It's the deciding Test between the British & Irish tourists and the world champions

South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch the third Test

After months, even years, of build-up the British & Irish Lions 2021 series against South Africa concludes this afternoon in Cape Town (kick-off 5pm UK & Ireland time).

It’s the third and final Test of the series in which the Lions won the opening game and South Africa levelled things up by triumphing in the second match. Who will come out on top in the decider?

The Lions are attempting to win a first series in South Africa since 1997 while the Springboks are hoping to add a Lions series victory to their World Cup triumph.

Warren Gatland has rung the changes to his Lions team after last week’s defeat while South Africa have lost two key players to injury in Faf de Klerk and Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Read our full South Africa v Lions Third Test preview, check out the team line-ups and find out how to watch the match at Cape Town Stadium wherever you are in the world.

South Africa: Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi (captain), Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Morné Steyn, Damian Willemse.

British & Irish Lions: Liam Williams; Josh Adams, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Dan Biggar, Ali Price; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Courtney Lawes, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Adam Beard, Sam Simmonds, Conor Murray, Finn Russell, Elliot Daly.


How to watch South Africa v Lions from outside your country

If you’re abroad, but still want to watch your local rugby coverage, like the South Africa v Lions series, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.

Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPNs 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.


South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch from the UK & Ireland

The three-Test series between the world champions South Africa and the British & Irish Lions will be televised live on Sky Sports.

There’s a big build-up to the third and final Test, with coverage starting at 3.30pm on the Sky Sports Action (now called The Lions) channel and 4pm on Sky Sports Main Event ahead of kick-off at 5pm, with Miles Harrison back on commentary this week.

Sky TV and Sports packages are available from £45 a month.

Highlights of this match will also be available on free-to-air TV – Channel 4 and S4C (10.30pm) – or you can listen to live commentary on talkSPORT radio.

If you’re from the UK but are overseas when the Lions tour takes place, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.


South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch from the USA

If you live in the States, NBC has the rights to show the 2021 Lions series against South Africa, Matches are streamed on Peacock Premium, which is available for $4.99 a month.

The third and final Test kicks off at noon EST and 9am on the West Coast.


South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch from Australia

Streaming service Stan Sport has the exclusive rights to show British & Irish Lions matches in 2021 in Australia. The last of the three Tests kicks off at 2am on Sunday in Australia.

It costs $10 a month to add Stan Sport to your general Stan plan – and there is also a seven-day free trial available so you could test it out.


South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch from New Zealand

The third Test between the Boks and the Lions will kick off at 4am on Sunday New Zealand time. Sky Sport NZ 1 will show it live and, if you want a late night or an early start, the coverage starts at 2.30am.

It costs $31.99 a month to add Sky Sport to your Sky Starter pack ($25.99).


South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch from South Africa

The third Test kicks off at 6pm SA time and will be live on SuperSport’s CSN, Grandstand and Rugby channels. There will also be match-up build-up from 4.30pm.

There are various DStv packages available, ranging from Access, which has SuperSport’s Blitz and Variety 4 channels, to Premium, which includes all 18 sports channels.


South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch from Japan

JSPORTS will be showing 2021 Lions matches in Japan and this Test kicks off at 1am on Sunday Japan time.


South Africa v Lions live stream: How to watch from Asia

Outside of Japan, Premier Sports Asia has the rights to broadcast British & Irish Lions Tests against South Africa in Asia and will show matches in 22 territories – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

A monthly subscription to Premier Sports Asia is $25.99 or a rolling annual contract is $129.99.


We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:

  1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
  2. 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. 

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