Alun Wyn Jones will equal Richie McCaw’s Test appearances record in Paris
France v Wales live stream: How to watch
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones will equal Richie McCaw’s Test appearances record when he takes the field against France tonight in Paris (kick-off 8.10pm).
The 35-year-old lock will win his 139th Wales cap in the first match of their autumn campaign and with nine Test appearances for the British & Irish Lions to his name as well, he will draw level with the All Black’s tally of 148.
At the other end of the spectrum, 19-year-old winger Louis Rees-Zammit is set to make his international debut having been named on the bench by Wayne Pivac.
Both Pivac and France coach Fabien Galthie have picked strong squads for this ‘warm-up’ fixture at the Stade de France. The friendly allows both teams to get a runout before the final Six Nations matches – for Wales against Scotland and France against Ireland – and then the Autumn Nations Cup.
Jonathan Davies is back from long-term injury to start in midfield in a new centre pairing alongside Nick Tompkins while his brother, James, is on the bench. Hooker Sam Parry could also make his Wales debut as a replacement.
France have made only one personnel change to the team that beat Wales in Cardiff earlier in the year. Vincent Rattez comes onto the wing, with Gael Fickou moving inside to centre and Arthur Vincent dropping to the bench.
France: Anthony Bouthier; Teddy Thomas, Virimi Vakatawa, Gaël Fickou, Vincent Rattez; Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont; Cyril Baille, Julien Marchand, Mohamed Haouas, Bernard Le Roux, Paul Willemse, Francois Cros, Charles Ollivon (captain), Gregory Alldritt..
Replacements: Camille Chat, Jean Baptiste Gros, Demba Bamba, Romain Taofifenua, Dylan Cretin, Baptiste Serin, Arthur Vincent, Thomas Ramos.
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny; George North, Jonathan Davies, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb; Rhys Carre, Ryan Elias, Samson Lee, Cory Hill, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Sam Parry, Nicky Smith, Dillon Lewis, Seb Davies, James Davies, Gareth Davies, Rhys Patchell, Louis Rees-Zammit.
Here’s how you can watch France v Wales wherever you are…
How to watch France v Wales when abroad
If you’re abroad, but still want to watch your local rugby coverage, like France v Wales, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.
Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPN and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and allows you to watch on several devices at once, including smart TVs and phones, iPads, tablets, PCs and Macs.
Plus, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it out for a month for free or sign up for an annual plan and get three months free.
France v Wales live stream: How to watch from the UK
The good news is that France v Wales is available on free-to-air TV in the UK. It kicks off at 8.10pm tonight and will be shown live on ITV4 and Welsh language channel S4C.
Mark Pougatch is presenting the ITV4 coverage, which starts at 7.30pm, with Gareth Thomas and James Hook providing analysis.
If you want to watch S4C’s coverage, which also starts at 7.30pm, in Wales you can find it on Sky 104, Freeview 4, Virgin TV 166 and Freesat 104. In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, it’s on Sky 134, Freesat 120 and Virgin TV 166.
If you’re from the UK but are overseas when France v Wales takes place, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.
France v Wales live stream: How to watch from Europe
France 2, another free-to-air channel, has the rights to broadcast France v Wales (kick-off 9.10pm) in France.
France v Wales live stream: How to watch from Australia
For those in Australia, France v Wales (kick-off 6.10am early on Sunday morning) is live on beIN Sports 3.
Access to beIN Sports’ Connect package is $19.99 a month or $179.99 for a year and also includes lots of European football action. Plus, there is currently a two-week FREE trial offer.
You can also stream beIN Sports’ coverage live and on-demand through Kayo Sports. A basic package is $25 a month and premium is $35 a month – and they are offering a FREE 14-day trial to new customers.
France v Wales live stream: How to watch from New Zealand
If you want to tune in to France v Wales from the Land of the Long White Cloud, the match kicks off at 8.10am on Sunday morning on Sky Sport NZ 1.
It costs $31.99 a month to add Sky Sport to your Sky Starter pack ($25.99) but if you sign up for 12 months before 31 January 2021 you’ll get your first month free. Plus, you’ll get Sky Go, which allows you to watch live rugby wherever you are.
France v Wales live stream: How to watch from South Africa
If you want to watch France v Wales from South Africa, SuperSport is the place to go. It kicks off at 9.10pm on SuperSport CSN, Grandstand and Rugby.
There are various DStv packages available that give access to SuperSport, ranging from Access, which has the Blitz and Variety 4 channels, to Premium, which includes all 18 sports channels.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
- Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
- Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Can’t get to the shops? You can download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.
Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.