You can watch a surprising amount of top-level rugby for free, legally, and in good quality, without a single gambling pop-up. I’ve tested the options below so you don’t have to wade through the junk.
World Rugby now has a free streaming service, RugbyPass TV. Between that, free-to-air TV, and some free trials, most fans can watch the matches they care about without paying a penny.
Unfortunately, a lot of RugbyPass coverage is locked to certain countries. I’ll show you how to fix that so you can watch what you want.
The Geo-Block Fix: Use a VPN
RugbyPass TV and other streams lock some of their coverage to specific countries. The match is there, just unavailable to your region.
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) fixes this problem cleanly. It lets you choose which country you appear to be browsing from. You connect through a region where the match is free, sit back, and watch the official stream in full HD.
As a bonus it keeps you private and secure, which is worth having anyway. Here is how it works in practice:
- Install the VPN and open the app.
- Connect to a server in the country where the match is streaming free (often the US for RugbyPass TV).
- Open RugbyPass TV and the match is unlocked. Watch.
NordVPN is the one I use and recommend. It’s fast enough for live HD without buffering. It has servers in pretty much every country you’ll need, and there’s a money-back guarantee.
Just to be clear, you’re not getting access to paid channels you haven’t shelled out for. You’re watching the same free legal broadcast as everyone else in that region.
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How to Use RugbyPass TV
World Rugby’s official free streaming service works in any browser, and on iOS and Android phones. You can get it on your wide-screen TV using Apple/Android TV, Chromecast or similar.
Sign up here for a free account, no credit card needed. And read on if you find the website strangely confusing.
If you take the time to click around, you’ll find some fantastic full-match replays, classic games, documentaries, and podcast shows. There’s a lot of old B&I Lions backroom footage, if you want a nostalgia trip as far back as 2001.
But you’re likely most interested in upcoming games, so head to the live schedule in the top menu.
The catch, as I’ve mentioned, is that a chunk of the free coverage is geo-locked by region. If a match you want is greyed out where you are, the VPN sorts it.
Free-To-Air TV: Don’t Overlook the Obvious
Before you go hunting online, check whether the match is simply on TV for free. A lot of the marquee rugby still airs on free-to-air channels, depending on your country. As a rule of thumb:
- UK: the Six Nations, Autumn internationals, and World Cups have been free-to-air on ITV/BBC. Some Prem matches are on ITV.
- Ireland: Most internationals involving Ireland are on RTÉ, TG4, or Virgin Media. The rights move around so check them all.
- France: France Télévisions has historically carried the Six Nations and big French fixtures.
- Southern Hemisphere & elsewhere: Free coverage varies a lot by country and tournament, so check your national broadcaster.
Getting Pay-TV For Cheap
The bad news that I’m sure you’ve noticed: more and more rugby fixtures are now with a paid broadcaster.
The good news: you rarely need to commit to a full subscription. Free trials and short rolling passes let you watch the match you want for little or nothing. NOW has been my go-to for short deals over a summer. Just be aware that you can’t record matches, you’ve got to watch live.
Premier Sports have grabbed a lot of matches in the UK, Ireland, and Canada. Be careful if you’re looking at a NOW+ bundle – some deals have Premier and some don’t.
Stan Sport in Australia carries Super Rugby and runs free-trial periods. But you’re not in Australia? Scroll up to my VPN section and get NordVPN.
The trick is to start a free trial timed to a match series, and set a reminder to cancel. Without reminding yourself, the subscription service itself may not be considerate enough to tell you you’re about to roll over into the paid option.