Everything you need to know to watch a European Champions Cup final live stream on Saturday – including free options
This guide explains how to watch a Northampton Saints v Bordeaux live stream as this year’s European Champions Cup reaches its climax at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Both teams have beaten some top sides on their way to the final – including Leinster and Toulouse in the semis – but will be hoping they’ve saved the best for last.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch this year’s European Champions Cup final, whether you’re planning on watching Northampton Saints v Bordeaux on TV or online.
Key information
– Northampton Saints v Bordeaux date: Saturday 24 May 2025
– Northampton Saints v Bordeaux kick-off time: 2.45pm BST / 3.45pm CET / 3.45pm SAST / 9.45am ET
– Northampton Saints v Bordeaux free streams: S4C Chwaraeon YouTube channel (UK), RTÉ Player (Ireland), France TV (France)
– Northampton Saints v Bordeaux TV channels: Premier Sports (UK and Ireland), FloRugby (US), SuperSport (South Africa)
– Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free
Watch Northampton Saints v Bordeaux FREE live streams in the UK, Ireland and France
There‘s good news for Northampton Saints fans this weekend because this hotly anticipated European Champions Cup final will be available for FREE in the UK thanks to Welsh channel S4C.
You can watch Northampton Saints v Bordeaux live streams on terrestrial channel S4C, the S4C Clic streaming service, BBC iPlayer (just search for S4C) and the S4C Chwaraeon (sport) YouTube channel.
In addition to S4C’s usual Welsh language commentary, English commentary will be available on all of the above platforms except BBC iPlayer.
Viewers in Ireland can watch a Northampton Saints v Bordeaux live stream via the free RTÉ Player website and app – it’s easy to use and you don’t even need to register to access the service. If terrestrial TV is more your thing, the final is also available on RTÉ2.
And if you’re in France the game will be available to watch for free on both terrestrial channel France 2 and the France TV streaming platform. Registration is required for the latter, and geo-restrictions apply.
Travelling overseas right now? You can still watch your usual free service by using a VPN – more on that below.
Watch a European Champions Cup final live stream from abroad
Going to be travelling on Saturday afternoon? Even if you’re overseas there’s no need to worry about missing out on your usual Northampton Saints v Bordeaux live stream. Although geo-blocking can get in the way of watching your usual streaming services when you’re away from home, a handy little piece of software called a VPN is here to help.
A VPN (or, to give it it’s full name, a Virtual Private Network) can help you tune in as if you were sitting on your sofa back home. It performs this neat little trick by changing your device’s IP address, making your smartphone, tablet or computer appear to be in a totally different country. This allows you to watch geo-blocked internet streams and that’s not the only benefit because VPNs can also improve your security and privacy when you’re online.
Get over 70% off NordVPN
Our brainy office mates at TechRadar – who talk about such things for a living – have tested hundreds of VPNs, and they reckon the best of the bunch is NordVPN. Even better, NordVPN offers a money-back guarantee, 24/7 support, and it’s currently available at a knockdown price.
Other ways to watch Northampton Saints v Bordeaux in the UK and Ireland
As with every match of the 2024-25 European Champions Cup, the European Champions Cup final will be broadcast by Premier Sports in the UK and Ireland.
The clash is available on Premier Sports 1 and to stream online via Premier Sports’ website and app, with subscriptions costing £15.99 per month or £11.99 per month if you sign up for a full year. You can also get a year’s viewing at an even lower total price of £120 (which equates to just £10 per month) if you pay for all 12 months upfront.
Another option is to add Premier Sports to your existing Sky, Virgin Media or Amazon package. This will cost you £15.99 per month.
Premier Sports Ireland is also available to watch on TV or online.
Even if you’re travelling outside the UK or Ireland this weekend you can still get your usual Premier Sports access abroad by using a VPN, such as NordVPN.
Live stream the European Champions Cup final in South Africa
SuperSport is the home of European Champions Cup games in South Africa, including Northampton Saints v Bordeaux. Kick-off is at 3.45pm SAST on Saturday afternoon.
You can get Supersport on your TV via DStv, and you can also stream online. Check out the latest SuperSport packages.
Watch Northampton Saints v Bordeaux: live stream in the US
FloRugby will show the European Champions Cup final for fans in the United States. Kick-off time is 9.45am ET / 6.45am PT on Saturday morning.
A FloRugby subscription costs $29.99 a month or $150 on an annual basis, which works out to $12.50 per month.
Other European Champions Cup final broadcasters around the world
- beIN Sports (France)
- Viaplay (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden)
- EPCR TV (Various European countries, Australia, South-east Asia, Pacific Islands)
- Sky Sport (New Zealand)
Northampton Saints v Bordeaux: Match preview
The smart money was probably on a repeat of last year’s final, with Toulouse and Leinster facing off for the trophy once again. But one of the reasons we love sport is that it doesn’t always follow the form book, and the surprise semi-final exits of those European heavyweights has potentially given us one of the most open, hard to predict finals in years.
Northampton Saints secured their one and only Champions Cup win in 2000, and are playing in their first final since they lost to Leinster at the very same venue, the Principality Stadium, in 2011. While the reigning Premiership champions’ league form has been patchy, they’ve been on scintillating form in Europe, beating Clermont Auvergne, Castres and Leinster on their way to Cardiff. Nobody can claim they’ve had an easy route there.
Director of rugby Phil Dowson will continue to call on the exciting talents of Fin Smith, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman whose previous exploits in the tournament surely helped the quartet find a way into Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions squad. The question is, can they become the first English team to win the biggest prize in European club rugby since 2020?
This is Bordeaux’s first ever European final but that lack of experience doesn’t mean they should be taken lightly. Unbeaten in this year’s competition, their own route to the Principality Stadium has taken in victories over Ulster, Munster and reigning champions Toulouse – a side they’ve beaten on three occasions this season.
They can also call on some of the stars of France’s electrifying win in this year’s Six Nations, including scrum-half Maxime Lucu (an extremely able deputy for the legendary Antoine Dupont), and two of the most lethal finishers in world rugby: Damian Penaud and Six Nations top scorer and player of the tournament Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Both sides will know full well that sport doesn’t always go to plan. If it does, however, this could be a European Champions Cup final for the ages.
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.
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.