The Six Nations 2024 gets underway in Marseille tonight. Watch a France v Ireland live stream to kick off an exciting championship weekend.

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It’s a mild, clear night in Marseille as Ireland take on Les Bleus in their bid to retain the Six Nations title they won in 2023. Last year’s Dublin clash was an all-time classic, so you’ll want to know how to watch a France v Ireland live stream when the two sides kick off the tournament at 8:00pm GMT.

This article contains all the information you need to view tonight’s match FOR FREE on ITVX in the UK and Virgin Media Player in Ireland. If you’re away from your home country for the big game, you can use a VPN, such as ExpressVPN, to watch a France v Ireland live stream FOR FREE from abroad.

Both sides have lost their captains since the World Cup, with Johnny Sexton retiring and Antoine Dupont shifting to sevens for a crack at the Paris Olympics. Fly-half Jack Crowley and scrum-half Maxime Lucu step up to replace their countries’ talismanic leaders, with back row legends Peter O’Mahony and Grégory Alldritt taking over as captains. England’s Karl Dickson is the referee, assisted by fellow Englishman Matthew Carley and Australian Jordan Way, with Wales’ Ben Whitehouse on TMO duties. You’ll find full team line-ups at the end of the article.

Tonight’s game promises to be a spectacular start to this year’s tournament, so read on to find out how to watch a France v Ireland live stream anywhere in the world – scroll down to find the kick-off time where you are. You can also check out our guide to watching the rest of this year’s Six Nations, and reminisce on last year’s tournament with Netflix documentary Full Contact.

Exclusively French and Irish shortlist for Six Nations player of championship

Home advantage has been key in recent years, but will Les Bleus settle in Marseille? (Getty Images)


Watch France v Ireland: live stream for FREE from the UK

As has been the case for several years, the 15 matches of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations will be shared between the BBC and ITV in the UK.

France v Ireland is available FOR FREE on ITV1 and the ITVX  streaming service. ITV has a handy app that works on almost all your devices – just search for ITVX on any phone, tablet, smart TV or console you have. 

ITV’s France v Ireland live stream starts at 7:15pm GMT tonight ahead of the 8:00pm kick-off.

If you’re away from the UK tonight, you can use ExpressVPN to watch a France v Ireland live stream FOR FREE from abroad by following the instructions below. But remember, you’ll still need a valid TV Licence to watch ITVX from overseas.


How to watch a France v Ireland live stream from outside your country

If you want to watch a France v Ireland live stream from your home country’s broadcaster but are abroad, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.

A VPN is a piece of software which offers both online privacy and the ability to change your IP address, meaning that you can access on-demand content or live TV like you would back at home, even while in another country.

Our fine colleagues at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPNs and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and lets 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.

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.


Watch France v Ireland: live stream for FREE from Ireland

In Ireland, FREE coverage of the 2024 Six Nations Championship will be shared between RTÉ and Virgin Media Television

You can watch Ireland getting their tournament underway against France FOR FREE on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Player, with live coverage starting at 7:00pm ahead of the 8:00pm kick-off.


Watch France v Ireland: live stream from South Africa

If you want to watch a France v Ireland live stream from South Africa, SuperSport is the place to go. The match kicks off at 10:00pm SAST.

There are various SuperSport packages available, whether you want to watch via DStv or stream.


Watch France v Ireland: live stream from the USA

NBC Sports are the rights holders for the tournament in the USA, and Six Nations matches will be available on CNBC. France v Ireland kicks off at 3:00pm ET, 12:00pm PT today.

Sling is a smart TV service that allows people in the US to watch cable channels on their TV, laptop or tablet without actually having to subscribe to an annual cable TV package.

CNBC is available on Sling via the Sling Blue package with the News Extra add-on. It’ll usually cost you $46 per month ($40 for Sling Blue, $6 for the add-on) but Sling are currently offering your first month for $20. You can cancel your subscription at any time.

You can also watch a France v Ireland live stream on the Peacock Premium streaming service, which is available for $5.99 per month.


Watch France v Ireland: live stream from New Zealand

In New Zealand, subscription service Sky Sport NZ has the rights to show Six Nations matches. A France v Ireland live stream is available on Sky Sport 1, with coverage starting at 8:50am NZDT on Saturday morning.


Watch France v Ireland from Australia

Australian rugby fans looking for a France v Ireland live stream can tune into Stan Sport, which has the rights to all 15 Six Nations matches ad-free, live and on demand. Kick-off is at 7:00am AEDT on Saturday morning.

It costs $15 a month to add Stan Sport to your general Stan plan. There is also a 30-day free trial available so you can give Stan a run out first – though this does not apply to Stan Sport.


Watch France v Ireland: live stream FOR FREE from France

In France, you can watch France v Ireland FOR FREE on France 2 and its France TV streaming service. Kick-off is at 9:00pm French time.


Watch France v Ireland from Asia

Premier Sports has the rights to broadcast Six Nations matches 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 pass to Premier Sports Asia is $25.99 or you can take out an annual subscription for $169.


France v Ireland: team line-ups

FRANCE Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gaël Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Yoram Moefana; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu; Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, Paul Gabrillagues, Paul Willemse, François Cros, Charles Ollivon, Grégory Alldritt (capt)

Replacements: Julien Marchand, Reda Wardi, Dorian Aldegheri, Posolo Tuilagi, Cameron Woki, Paul Boudehent, Nolann le Garrec, Louis Bielle-Biarrey

IRELAND Hugo Keenan; Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony (capt), Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley


France v Ireland: kick-off times

Here is the France v Ireland kick-off time where you are:

UK: 8:00pm
South Africa: 10:00pm
Ireland:
8:00pm
USA:
3:00pm (ET), 12:00pm (PT)
Australia
: 7:00am (AEST), Saturday 
New Zealand:
9:00am, Saturday 
France:
9:00pm


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