Both sides know that defeat will mean waving their championship hopes goodbye
Watch England v Ireland as France’s most likely rivals for the 2026 Men’s Six Nations championship meet at Twickenham.
The match kicks off at 2.10pm GMT this afternoon, and you can watch England v Ireland live streams for free in the UK, Ireland and France – read on to find out how you can use a VPN to tune in wherever you are in the world. You’ll find a match preview at the bottom of the page.
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Read more: Henry Pollock can fire England back to winning ways – Rugby World’s England v Ireland predictions
Key information
– England v Ireland date: Saturday 21 February 2026
– England v Ireland kick-off time: 2.10pm GMT (local) / 3.10pm CET / 9.10am ET / 4.10pm SAST / 1.10am AEDT (Sunday)
– England v Ireland venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
– England v Ireland free streams: ITVX (free), RTÉ Player (free), TF1+ (free)
– Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free
How to watch England v Ireland in the UK – live stream the game for free
For UK viewers, this eagerly anticipated encounter is available for free on terrestrial channel ITV1 and streaming service ITVX. Coverage gets underway at 1.00pm GMT, with the kick-off scheduled for 2.10pm GMT.
ITVX is free to use, but you do need to complete a simple sign-up process to access the service. You also need an up-to-date TV Licence to stream live TV in the UK.
Today’s second Six Nations fixture, Wales v Scotland (kick-off: 2.10pm GMT) is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Sunday’s game, France v Italy (kick-off: 3.10pm GMT), is on ITV1 and ITVX.
Stream England v Ireland from anywhere
Being overseas this weekend doesn’t mean you have to miss any of the Six Nations action. By using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to change your IP address, you can avoid geo-blocking restrictions and stream England v Ireland as if you were back at home.
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How to watch England v Ireland for FREE in Ireland
RTÉ has the rights to this game in Ireland. Terrestrial viewers can tune in via RTÉ2 or you can watch England v Ireland live streams via the RTÉ Player streaming service.
Pre-match build-up starts at 1.00pm GMT, ahead of the 2.10pm GMT kick-off.
Every Six Nations match this season is available free-to-air in Ireland. Later today, Wales v Scotland (kick-off: 4.40pm GMT) is on Virgin Media Play and Virgin Media One.
Sunday’s France v Italy clash (kick-off: 3.10pm GMT) is on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
England v Ireland live streams in France
If Les Bleus slip up in any of their remaining games they know these two sides will be their most likely rivals for the Six Nations title. French fans can watch this game for free on both TF1 and its TF1+ streaming service.
Coverage of England v Ireland starts at 3.00pm CET, 10 minutes ahead of the 3.10pm kick-off.
French fans who are away from home but want to tune in with their usual French language commentary can still access their TF1 coverage from abroad by using a VPN, such as NordVPN.
Other England v Ireland global streams
United States: A $10.99 per month subscription is what you need to get access to every Men’s Six Nations match this season via NBC’s Peacock Premium streaming service. Kick-off is 9.10am ET / 6.10am PT this morning.
Australia: Fans down under need to stay up late and head to Stan Sport for England v Ireland live streams. You’ll need a base Stan subscription (monthly fees start at $12 per month) plus $20 per month to watch Stan Sport. Kick-off is 1.10am AEDT very early on Sunday morning.
New Zealand: In New Zealand, England v Ireland is on Sky Sport, which costs $54.99 per month for a streaming subscription. Kick-off is 3.10am NZDT in the small hours of Sunday morning.
South Africa: If you’re in South Africa you need to head to SuperSport to watch England v Ireland. The match gets underway at 4.10pm SAST this afternoon.
- Check out our full guide to how to watch Six Nations 2026 for broadcasters around the world.
England v Ireland preview
England’s dreams of a final day Grand Slam decider against France were dashed last weekend, when they lost this year’s Calcutta Cup match against Scotland. A 12-match winning sequence went up in smoke, leaving Steve Borthwick’s men in desperate need of victory if they’re going to have any chance of overhauling Les Bleus at the top of the championship table.
Ireland are in a similar position, with a near identical one win/one defeat record (albeit without a bonus point). However, Andy Farrell’s team haven’t quite looked themselves this year, with a humbling defeat to France in Paris, and a nailbitingly narrow victory over Italy in Dublin. A win at Twickenham would be the statement the side arguably needs.
In recent years, Ireland have had the upper hand in this fixture, with England’s only win since 2020 coming two years ago, when they scraped a 23-22 victory at Twickenham. Even so, England look like the slight favourites, given their strength in depth throughout the 23. To prove the point, Borthwick has promoted Henry Pollock from the bench to make his first England start at number 8, with British & Irish Lions star Tom Curry joining him in the back row. Ollie Lawrence also comes into the starting XV, coming into the centres as Tommy Freeman shifts out to his more familiar position on the wing. On the bench, Jack Van Poortvliet and Marcus Smith are new additions to the 23.
The big talking point for Ireland is Jack Crowley taking over from Sam Prendergast at fly half, but there are changes elsewhere in the XV. After taking a chance on youth against Italy last weekend, Farrell has reverted to the tried-and-tested, with Lions scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, tighthead Tadhg Furlong, blindside flanker Tadhg Beirne and openside Josh van der Flier all coming into the starting line-up.
This is a must-win game for both teams but who will come out on top?
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