England Vs. Japan, South Africa Vs. Romania, and More

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France hosts the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but you don’t need to live near the City of Light to tune in. We’ll show you where to watch Rugby World Cup live streams for free from anywhere. You can watch 20 of the best teams in the world smash each other around the pitch leading up to the final on October 28.

Participating nations include Argentina, Australia, Chile, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Namibia, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, Uruguay, and Wales. Many of these countries have local broadcasts and streams for those within their borders.

The Rugby World Cup is not a daily affair. During the group stages, Saturday and Sunday get three games each, and there’s one match each night from Wednesday to Friday. Today’s matches are South Africa vs. Romania, Australia vs. Fiji, and England vs. Japan, that’s three in a row with some of the game’s biggest teams, and you can see them all for free.

If you don’t have a proper watch option in your country, we’ll show you how to watch Rugby World Cup live streams for free using a VPN. Short for virtual private network, these handy apps let your devices mimic various international locations of your choosing, so you can hop onto one of the all-inclusive streaming sources listed below. 

Where to watch Rugby World Cup live streams free from anywhere 

You can catch all of the Rugby World Cup action using the free ITVX live stream in the United Kingdom, offering up every match. ITV1 will show most games, and the others will be shown between ITV3 and 4. While ITVX is a UK-based platform, you can access it from anywhere using a VPN.

A VPN virtually changes your devices’ location, so apps and websites think you’re connecting from servers within those countries. In the case of the Rugby World Cup, you can connect through a UK server, and ITV will let you in with no fuss after creating a free email login. You can also use VPNs to sign up for cheap streaming services such as Peacock (it’s also showing all Rugby World Cup games starting at $5.99 monthly).

Don’t have a VPN? There’s a fantastic offer right now on the best VPN we’ve tested and have been using for years for streaming and beefing up our online security. You can pick up Express VPN, save 49% on the usual price, and get three months for free. It’s the best investment in your sports-watching future if you know you’ll want to watch more international sports streams. If you’re unsatisfied, there’s a hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee. Want to learn more about the product? Take a look at our ExpressVPN review.

How to watch the Rugby World Cup with a VPN

• Sign up for a VPN if you don’t have one.
• Install it on the device you’re using to watch the game.
• Turn it on and set it to a UK location.
• Go to: ITVX.
• Sign in/create a free login and watch the matches.
• When: September 8 – October 28

How to watch the Rugby World Cup in the USA

NBC is the exclusive broadcast partner for the Rugby World Cup in the United States. All games will stream live on its Peacock streaming service (starts at just $5.99 monthly).

You’ll also find over a dozen select matches on its network news arm, CNBC (available on live TV streaming services like Sling Blue + News Extra, currently just $20 for your first month). Or, if you have a VPN, you can watch all of the Rugby World Cup matches for free using ITVX, as described above.

How to watch Rugby World Cup games live in the UK

ITV is the official broadcast provider for Rugby World Cup 2023 games in the UK. All games will be available across ITV1 and ITV4 on TV and online. If you’re interested in streaming on mobile devices and computers, the streaming component known as ITVX will also have all the coverage you need.

How to watch the Rugby World Cup in Australia

You have some neat options for watching Rugby World Cup games in Australia. Stan Sport will show every game on the schedule. You can also tune into all Australian national team games and the final game for free using the 9Now streaming service.

How to watch the Rugby World Cup in France

As the Rugby World Cup is in Paris this year, it’s only natural that French viewers have an abundance of free, local live stream options. TF1 is the primary provider for Rugby World Cup games in France, but the network has also made deals to share around half of its games with France TV and M6 via 6Play.

You may need to peck around the TV guides for those respective channels to find the exact matches you want to watch, but you should be able to catch all scheduled matches for free, no sign-up required.

Rugby World Cup schedule

Below is a full schedule of upcoming Rugby World Cup games that will run through the October 28 final. All times below are in US Eastern.

Groups and Pools

Sunday, September 17

• South Africa vs. Romania, 9:00 a.m. ET; Pool B (free on ITVX)
• Australia vs. Fiji, 12:45 p.m. ET; Pool C (free on ITVX)
• England vs. Japan, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool D (free on ITVX)

Wednesday, September 20

• Italy vs. Uruguay, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool A (free on ITVX)

Thursday, September 21

• France vs. Namibia, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool A (free on ITVX)

Friday, September 22

• Argentina vs. Samoa, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool D (free on ITVX)

Saturday, September 23

• Georgia vs. Portugal, 8:00 a.m. ET; Pool C (free on ITVX)
• England vs. Chile, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool D (free on ITVX)
• South Africa vs. Ireland, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool B (free on ITVX)

Sunday, September 24

• Scotland vs. Tonga, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool B (free on ITVX)
• Wales vs. Australia, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool C (free on ITVX)

Wednesday, September 27

• Uruguay vs. Namibia, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool A (free on ITVX)

Thursday, September 28

• Japan vs. Samoa, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool D (free on ITVX)

Friday, September 29

• New Zealand vs. Italy, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool A (free on ITVX)

Saturday, September 30

• Argentina vs. Chile, 9:00 a.m. ET; Pool D (free on ITVX)
• Fiji vs. Georgia, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool C (free on ITVX)
• Scotland vs. Romania, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool B (free on ITVX)

Sunday, October 1

• Australia vs. Portugal, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool C (free on ITVX)
• South Africa vs. Tonga, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool B (free on ITVX)

Thursday, October 5

• New Zealand vs. Uruguay, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool A (free on ITVX)

Friday, October 6

• France vs. Italy, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool A (free on ITVX)

Saturday, October 7

• Wales vs. Georgia, 9:00 a.m. ET; Pool C (free on ITVX)
• England vs. Samoa, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool D (free on ITVX)
• Ireland vs. Scotland, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool B (free on ITVX)

Sunday, October 8

• Japan vs. Argentina, 7:00 a.m. ET; Pool D (free on ITVX)
• Tonga vs. Romania, 11:45 a.m. ET; Pool B (free on ITVX)
• Fiji vs. Portugal, 3:00 p.m. ET; Pool C (free on ITVX)

• France vs. New Zealand; Friday, September 8, 3:15 p.m. ET (free on ITVX)

Quarter Final

Saturday, October 14

• TBD (Winner Pool C) vs. TBD (Runner-up Pool D), 11:00 a.m. ET; QF1 (free on ITVX)
• TBD (Winner Pool B) vs. TBD (Runner-up Pool A), 3:00 p.m. ET; QF2 (free on ITVX)

Sunday, October 15

• TBD (Winner Pool D) vs. TBD (Runner-up Pool C), 11:00 a.m. ET; QF3 (free on ITVX)
• TBD (Winner Pool A) vs. TBD (Runner-up Pool B), 3:00 p.m. ET; QF4 (free on ITVX)

Semi-finals

Friday, October 20

• TBD (Winner Quarter-final 1) vs. TBD (Winner Quarter-final 2), 3:00 p.m. ET; Semi-final 1 (free on ITVX)

Saturday, October 21

• TBD (Winner Quarter-final 3) vs. TBD (Winner Quarter-final 4), 3:00 p.m. ET; Semi-final 2 (free on ITVX)

Bronze Final (Third-place matchup)

Friday, October 27

• TBD (Losers: SF1) vs. TBD (Losers: SF2), 3:00 p.m. ET; Third place play-off (free on ITVX)

Final

Saturday, October 28

• TBD (Winners: SF1) vs. TBD (Winners: SF2), 3:00 p.m. ET; Final (free on ITVX)

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

Quentyn Kennemer

Editorial Fellow