Watch Six Nations 2026 as one of the biggest rugby tournaments in the world bursts onto our screens this weekend, with Rugby World bringing you all the information on live streams and TV broadcasts, wherever you are in the world.

The 2026 Six Nations, in which six northern hemisphere national sides all play each other once, runs over five weekends, kicking off on Thursday, February 5 and culminating on Saturday, 14 March, when the champions will be crowned.

France are the reigning champions and are sure to be in the mix once again, but England and Ireland are set to be fiercely competitive after only missing out on bonus points last year. It would take a huge upset for Scotland to lift the trophy, and while Italy are no longer considered an easy source of points by the other teams, they’re also unlikely to be contenders. After two consecutive Wooden Spoons, winning a match will be seen as an improvement for Wales.

As always, anticipation is high ahead of a great sporting competition and thankfully there are plenty of broadcast options all over the world, including a generous helping of free-to-air coverage. We’ve rounded them all up right here, so read on for all the details on how to watch Six Nations online, on TV, and from anywhere in the world. Scroll down to the end of the article for a full list of Six Nations 2026 fixtures.

Quick Guide

– Six Nations Dates: February 5 – March 14, 2026
– Six Nations broadcasters: BBC, ITV (UK), RTÉ, Virgin Media (Ireland), Peacock (USA), SuperSport (South Africa)
– Six Nations FREE Streams: BBC iPlayer, ITVX, RTÉ Player, Virgin Media Play, FranceTV
– Watch Six Nations from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free

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What Six Nations 2026 games are on TV this weekend?

Thursday 5 February

• France v Ireland
  Kick-off: 8.10pm GMT / 10.10pm SAST / 7.10am AEST (Friday) / 9.10am NZST (Friday) / 3.10pm ET / 12.10pm PT
  Broadcasters: ITV (UK), Virgin Media (Ireland), Peacock (US), Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)

Saturday 7 February

• Italy v Scotland
  Kick-off: 2.10pm GMT / 4.10pm SAST / 1.10am AEST (Sunday) / 3.10am NZST (Sunday) / 9.10am ET / 6.10am PT
  Broadcasters: BBC (UK), Virgin Media (Ireland), Peacock (US), Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)
• England v Wales
  Kick-off: 4.40pm GMT / 6.40pm SAST / 3.40am AEST (Sunday) / 5.40am NZST (Sunday) / 11.40am ET / 8.40am PT
  Broadcasters: ITV (UK), RTÉ (Ireland), Peacock (US), Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)

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Watch for FREE: Six Nations free live streams

In many parts of the world, you can watch the Six Nations free of charge – something of a rarity for sporting events of this magnitude in this day and age.

That’s because the Six Nations has been afforded protected status in the countries in which it’s played, meaning it’s shown free-to-air on public broadcasters.

In the UK, the games are split between the BBC and ITV. In Ireland, they’re split between RTÉ and Virgin Media. In France, all matches are on France Télévisions. In Italy, the five games involving Italy will be shown free on TV8.

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How to watch the Six Nations from anywhere

Away from home during the Six Nations? Don’t worry, you can still watch your usual stream from abroad, thanks to the wonders of a VPN.

A Virtual Private Network – to give it the full name – is a piece of software that can change your device’s IP address to make it appear to be in any country in the world. That means you can access your streaming services and watch the rugby like you would in your living room, even if you’re in another country.

It’s perfect for watching rugby on the move and it also comes with a host of internet security benefits too – that sounds like a winner to us.

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How to watch Six Nations 2026 in the UK

In the UK, the rights to broadcast the 2026 Six Nations are shared between the BBC and ITV, both being public broadcasters and free-to-air.

Once again, ITV has the bigger share with 10 matches, while the BBC picks up the remaining five. There’s a slight tweak to the split this year, with ITV taking all five England games while the BBC focuses on Wales and Scotland.

Either way, all games are covered, airing live TV on both broadcasters’ terrestrial channels, and also available to watch online via their streaming services: BBC iPlayer and ITVX. You need to register on those streaming platforms but you don’t need to pay anything.

For more on UK coverage, check out our dedicated guide: Six Nations TV coverage: BBC & ITV matches

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How to watch Six Nations 2026 in Ireland

In Ireland, coverage is shared between RTÉ, Ireland’s main national broadcaster, and Virgin Media, which is also free-to-air. The

The games will be shown on TV, on one of the main RTÉ channels or on Virgin Media, which is also available on Ireland’s terrestrial TV service, Saorview. Additionally, you can watch the games online on the RTÉ Player or Virgin Media Play.

• Read more: Six Nations fixtures

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Watch Six Nations: live stream from South Africa

We know plenty of fans in South Africa will be wanting to tune into the Six Nations, and they can do so through SuperSport.

SuperSport will be familiar to rugby fans in South Africa, with a host of other tournaments airing on the network. You can get SuperSport on your TV via DStv, or you can stream online.

There are various SuperSport packages available, so have a look at what works best for you.

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US broadcaster for the 2026 Six Nations

NBC is the rightsholder in the US for the 2026 Six Nations, with its streaming platform Peacock set to show all 15 games online.

A subscription to Peacock costs $10.99 per month, or $109.99 for a full year

• Get Peacock

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Watch Six Nations in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the 2026 Six Nations on the streaming service DAZN. Subscriptions to DAZN cost CA$34.99 per month but you can save if you sign up for an annual plan.

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Watch Six Nations from Australia

For fans in Australia, Stan Sport is the place to go. The streaming service has the rights to all 15 Six Nations 2025 matches. Prices start from $12 per month for the base Stan plan, but you’ll need the Sport add-on for $20 per month, so a total of $32 per month.

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Live stream the Six Nations from New Zealand

In New Zealand, Sky Sport NZ has the rights to the 2025 Six Nations. Online subscriptions start from $49.99 a month.

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Watch the Six Nations in France

All 15 matches from the 2026 Six Nations are available for free on France Télévisions, the main public broadcaster in France.

Selected games will air across France Télévisions’ terrestrial TV channels, while they’re all available to watch online on the FranceTV streaming platform.

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Watch the Six Nations in Italy

In Italy, the 2026 Six Nations games are split between Sky Sport and TV8.

Sky Sport is a paid-for service available on satellite television and its own streaming platform – all games are being shown online, and Italy’s on TV.

TV8 is a free-to-air channel that will show all of Italy’s games on TV and on its online platform for free.

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Six Nations 2026: Full list of official broadcasters

• BBC (United Kingdom, free)
• ITV (United Kingdom, free)
• S4C (Wales, free)
• Premier Sports (United Kingdom)
• RTÉ (Ireland, free)
• Virgin Media (Ireland, free)
• France Télévisions (France, free)
• Sky Sport (Italy)
• TV8 (Italy, free)
• Peacock (US)
• DAZN (Canada)
• Stan Sport (Australia)
• Sky Sport NZ (New Zealand)
• MoreThanSportsTV (Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland)
• Viaplay (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden)
• TV3 (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
• Nova (Czechia, Slovakia)
• Telefonica (Spain)
• Telenet (Belgium)
• Ziggo (Netherlands)
• GO (Malta)
• SportTV (Portugal)
• Digi (Romania)
• Georgian Rugby Union (Georgia)
• A1 (Bulgaria)
• SuperSport (Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Renunion, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Uganda, South Africa, South Sudan, St Helena and Ascension, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
• Wowow (Japan)
• Premier Sports (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam)
• Digicel (Pacific Islands, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marianas, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Marianas, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and Western Samoa)
• ESPN Sur (Antarctica, Argentina, Ascension Islands, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guyana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela)
• TOD TV (Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebaon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen)
• Sport 5 (Israel)

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Round 5

Saturday 14 March

• Ireland v Scotland
  Aviva Stadium, Dublin
  Kick-off: 2.10pm GMT / 4.10pm SAST / 1.10am AEST (Sunday) / 3.10am NZST (Sunday) / 10.10am ET / 7.10am PT
  UK broadcaster: ITV
• Wales v Italy
  Principality Stadium, Cardiff
  Kick-off: 4.40pm GMT / 6.40pm SAST / 3.40am AEST (Sunday) / 5.40am NZST (Sunday) / 12.40am ET / 9.40am PT
  UK broadcaster: BBC
• France v England
  Stade de France, Paris
  Kick-off: 8.10pm GMT / 10.10pm SAST / 7.10am AEST (Sunday) / 9.10am NZST (Sunday) / 4.10pm ET / 1.10pm PT
  UK broadcaster: ITV

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