Steve Borthwick’s men host the Six Nations 2025 pace setters in the second round of the championship
Watch England v France as two sides who had very different opening Six Nations 2025 weekends meet in London on Saturday 8 February. Below you’ll find all the information you need on how to tune into TV broadcasts and live streams wherever you are today.
France were totally dominant against Wales last weekend, and look like the team to beat in this year’s championship. England, meanwhile, faded away after a promising first half against Ireland, and have now lost seven of their last nine matches.
England v France kicks off at 4.45pm GMT/5.45pm CET on chilly evening with a possibility of rain. It’s available to watch for free in many countries, including the UK and France. This guide will tell you everything you need to know to watch England v France online, on TV and from anywhere in the world.
Key information
– England v France date: Saturday 8 February 2025
– England v France kick-off time: 4.45pm local (GMT) / 5.45pm CET / 11.45am ET / 6.45pm SAST / 3.45am AEDT (Sunday)
– England v France venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, England
– England v France on TV: ITV1, Virgin Media One, France 2
– England v France streams: ITVX (free), Virgin Media Play (free), FranceTV (free)
– Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free
How to watch England v France in the UK – live stream the Six Nations for free
Fans in the UK can watch England v France in the Six Nations on ITV.
Free coverage of every game is available in the UK on either BBC or ITV, but ITV has the rights to all of England’s matches at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. England’s first home game in the 2025 Six Nations is available to watch for free on both terrestrial channel ITV1 and streaming service ITVX.
ITVX is free to use, though you do need to register with an email address to tune in. You also need to make sure your TV Licence is up to date when it comes to streaming live TV. Coverage starts at 4.15pm GMT ahead of the 4.45pm GMT kick-off.
Away from the UK right now? You can’t miss this one, and you don’t have to, thanks to VPNs – more on that below.
How to watch England v France from abroad
Going to be abroad when Le Crunch kicks off today? Geo-blocking can get in the way of your best laid plans for watching your favourite streaming services when you’re overseas, but help is at hand courtesy of a VPN.
These smart pieces of software (VPN stands for Virtual Private Network) can make your laptop, smartphone or tablet appear to be in a different country. This allows you to log on to your favourite streaming platform as if you’re back home on your sofa, making it a must-have for sports fans on the move. As an added bonus, VPNs are also great news for your general internet security.
TechRadar know a thing or two about gadgets and software, and have tested hundreds of VPNs. NordVPN comes out on top, particularly for unblocking streaming services, and you can make big savings during the Six Nations, too.
How to watch England v France in Ireland
Fans in Ireland also get to watch England v France for free, with coverage of the game available through Virgin Media. RTÉ have the rights to Scotland v Ireland on Sunday.
The match is available to terrestrial viewers on Virgin Media One, with live internet streams broadcast via the Virgin Media Play platform. Viewing on the streaming platform is as simple as hitting play on the website or app, so you don’t even need to sign up to use the service.
Coverage of Le Crunch starts at 4.30pm ahead of the 4.45pm kick-off.
How to watch England v France in France
In France, all Six Nations games are free to watch via public broadcaster France Télévisions. Les Bleus’ second match of the tournament will be broadcast on both terrestrial channel France 2 and the FranceTV streaming platform. Both are free to view.
Coverage starts at 5.35pm CET ahead of the 5.45pm CET kick-off.
French fans who are abroad but want their usual home atmosphere can still access their France Télévisions coverage from abroad by using a VPN, such as NordVPN.
How to watch England v France in the US
Fans in the US can watch, England v France, the biggest match in the Six Nations this weekend, on Peacock.
Peacock is the streaming service of broadcasting giant NBC, and not only have they got every Six Nations match live, but they’ve also got a big discount right now. You can get a year’s worth of Peacock access for just $29.99, down from $79.99. That’s $2.50 per month, when a monthly sub costs $7.99.
Other global streams
Australia: Stan Sport will show England v France down under – you’ll need a base Stan subscription plus $15 per month for Stan Sport.
New Zealand: In New Zealand, England v France is on Sky Sport, which is $49.99 per month if you’re after a streaming subscription.
South Africa: Head to SuperSport to watch England v France in South Africa – TV and streaming packages are available.
Italy: Fans in Italy don’t get England v France for free but it is available on Sky Sports Italia.
- For a full list of global broadcasters, check out our full guide to how to watch Six Nations 2025.
England v France preview
England will be doing their best to forget the last time this fixture was played at Twickenham (now rebranded as the Allianz Stadium). Back in 2023, Les Bleus scored seven tries on the way to running out 53-10 winners, inflicting a record home defeat on the hosts. It’s a day head coach Steve Borthwick and his men will be desperate to consign to history.
Unfortunately for England, they don’t come into this year’s Six Nations fixture in the best of form, having lost seven of their previous nine games. And while all but one of those losses have come against teams above them in the world rankings (Australia being the exception), they play France knowing that defeat will effectively put them out of contention for this year’s Six Nations trophy.
England’s first half against Ireland last weekend was extremely promising, as they went into the break 10-5 up. But, in a theme common to many of their recent games, Borthwick’s team let that lead slip, shipping 22 unanswered points as Ireland clocked up an unassailable lead. Although a couple of late scores made the final result 27-22, the match had long been lost.
One of the hallmarks of Borthwick’s tenure has been consistency of selection, and there are subsequently few changes in his side to face les Bleus. He has, however, rolled the dice by starting Northampton Saints’ Fin Smith (2024 Premiership player of the season) at fly-half, with Marcus Smith shifting to full-back – a move presumably designed to counter France’s long-kicking game.
On paper England appear to have the talent. Now they need to turn that into an 80-minute performance on the pitch.
- Read more: Le Crunch! Here is the history of every Men’s Six Nations game between England and France
Of course, that will be easier said than done. France are one of the last sides you’d want to face when you’re on a bad run, especially after they destroyed Wales 43-0 in the opening match of the tournament. Having barely broken into a sweat against the Welsh, they’re already looking like favourites for the championship.
It doesn’t hurt that their star-packed team looks like something out of fantasy rugby. The return of talismanic scrum-half, captain and possible GOAT Antoine Dupont (he sat out last year’s Six Nations to concentrate on winning the Olympic Sevens tournament) will put fear into every opponent. But the whole back division is packed with talent, with Bordeaux Bègles wingers Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey both lethal finishers, and full-back Thomas Ramos arguably the best place-kicker in the game. One possible ray of light for England is the absence of fly-half Romain Ntamack, suspended after a late red card last weekend. Even so, Matthieu Jalibert is a top-level replacement.
England’s forwards are also in for a challenging afternoon, as they face up to a pack that mixes the brute force of tighthead Uini Atonio with the skills of number 8 Grégory Alldritt. In other words, if England can defy the odds to come out on top today, they’ll have earned it.
England v France teams
Steve Borthwick brings in a new Smith at fly-half, with Northampton’s Fin starting at international level for the first time. Marcus Smith moves to full-back, with Ollie Sleightholme coming in for the injured Cadan Murley on the wing. Tom Willis gets his first ever England start in the back row.
Fabien Galthié has made two changes to the XV that humbled Wales in Paris on opening night. One is enforced, with fly-half Matthieu Jalibert coming in for the suspended Romain Ntamack. The other sees the prolific Damian Penaud – now recovered from the injury that kept him out of the Wales game – replacing Théo Attissogbé on the wing.
ENGLAND
15. Marcus Smith
14. Tommy Freeman
13. Ollie Lawrence
12. Henry Slade
11. Ollie Sleightholme
10. Fin Smith
9. Alex Mitchell
1. Ellis Genge (vice-captain)
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie
3. Will Stuart
4. Maro Itoje (captain)
5. George Martin
6. Tom Curry
7. Ben Earl
8. Tom Willis
Replacements:
16. Jamie George
17. Fin Baxter
18. Joe Heyes
19. Ollie Chessum
20. Chandler Cunningham-South
21. Ben Curry
22. Harry Randall
23. Elliot Daly
FRANCE
15. Thomas Ramos
14. Damian Penaud
13. Pierre-Louis Barassi
12. Yoram Moefana
11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey
10. Matthieu Jalibert
9. Antoine Dupont (captain)
1. Jean-Baptiste Gros
2. Peato Mauvaka
3. Uini Atonio
4. Alexandre Roumat
5. Emmanuel Meafou
6. François Cros
7. Paul Boudehent
8. Grégory Alldritt
Replacements:
16. Julien Marchand
17. Cyril Baille
18. Georges-Henri Colombe
19. Hugo Auradou
20. Mickaël Guillard
21. Oscar Jégou
22. Nolann Le Garrec
23. Émilien Gailleton
Today’s Six Nations referee is Nika Amashukeli of Georgia. The assistants are Italy’s Andrew Piardi and Argentina’s Damian Schneider, with Marius van der Westhuizen of South Africa in the TMO booth.
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.
Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.
We test and review 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.