Watch Ireland v Wales as two sides with differing fortunes in the 2026 Men’s Six Nations meet under the Friday night lights in Dublin.

The match gets the weekend’s Six Nations action underway at 8.10pm GMT on a chilly but dry night at the Aviva Stadium. You can watch Ireland v Wales 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. Scroll down to the end of the article for a match preview, teams and officials.

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Key information

– Ireland v Wales date: Friday 6 March 2026

– Ireland v Wales kick-off time: 8.10pm GMT (local) / 9.10pm CET / 3.10pm ET / 10.10pm SAST / 7.10am AEDT (Saturday) 

– Ireland v Wales venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin

– Ireland v Wales free streams: ITVX / BBC iPlayer / S4C Clic (free), RTÉ Player (free), France TV (free)

– Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free

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How to watch Ireland v Wales in the UK – live stream the game for free

For UK viewers, this Friday night game is available for free on terrestrial channel ITV1 and streaming service ITVX. Pre-match build-up starts at at 7.20pm GMT, 50 minutes ahead of the 8.10pm kick-off.

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.

• Who are ITV’s Six Nations pundits?

Welsh language channel S4C will also air the game with Welsh commentary via the S4C broadcast channel, BBC iPlayer and the S4C Clic streaming service.

Tomorrow, Scotland v France (kick-off: 2.10pm GMT) is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. while Italy v England (kick-off: 4.40pm GMT), is on ITV1 and ITVX.

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Stream Ireland v Wales 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 Ireland v Wales as if you were back at home.

The tech experts at TechRadar and Tom’s Guide both rate NordVPN as world number one, thanks to its top-notch ability to unblock streaming services and security features.

How to watch Ireland v Wales 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.

Coverage starts at 7.00pm GMT, ahead of the 8.10pm GMT kick-off.

Every Six Nations match this season is available free-to-air in Ireland. Both of tomorrow’s matches, Scotland v France (kick-off: 2.10pm GMT) and Italy v England (kick-off 4.40pm GMT), are on Virgin Media Play and Virgin Media One.

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Ireland v Wales live streams in France

Ireland are one of Les Bleus’ only rivals for the Six Nations title – and will be hoping for France to slip up against Scotland tomorrow. French fans can watch this game for free on both France 3 and the France TV streaming service.

Coverage of Ireland v Wales starts at 9.00pm CET, 10 minutes ahead of the 9.10pm kick-off.

French fans who are away from home but want to tune in with their usual French language commentary can still access their France TV coverage from abroad by using a VPN, such as NordVPN.

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Other Ireland v Wales 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 3.10pm ET /12.10pm PT this afternoon.
Australia: Fans down under need to stay up late and head to Stan Sport for Ireland v Wales 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 7.10am AEDT on Saturday morning, so you can watch this one over breakfast.
New Zealand: In New Zealand, Ireland v Wales is on Sky Sport, which costs $54.99 per month for a streaming subscription. Kick-off is 9.10am NZDT on Saturday morning.
South Africa: If you’re in South Africa you need to head to SuperSport to watch Ireland v Wales. The match gets underway at 10.10pm SAST on Friday night.

• Check out our full guide to how to watch Six Nations 2026 for broadcasters around the world.

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Ireland v Wales preview

After a disappointing opening night defeat to France and a narrow win over Italy, Ireland proved their championship credentials last time out with an emphatic 42-21 away victory over England. Les Bleus may prove to be uncatchable at the top of the table, but Andy Farrell’s men know that second place (and a Triple Crown) are still a very real possibility. Rumours of this side’s decline appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

Wales, meanwhile, arrive in Dublin on a 14-match losing streak in the championship. There were glimmers of hope at the Principality a fortnight ago, as Steve Tandy’s team came agonisingly close to beating Scotland, and put in a performance that suggested they might be turning a corner at long last.

Farrell has made four changes to his starting line-up, one injury enforced as Jacob Stockdale comes in for James Lowe on the wing. Jack Conan (a late withdrawal ahead of the England match) comes into the back row, alongside Nick Timoney who makes his first ever Six Nations start at openside. Tom O’Toole gets the nod over Jeremy Loughman at loosehead. Jack Crowley (unsurprisingly, following the England victory) continues at fly-half after being preferred to Sam Prendergast at Twickenham.

The bench is a mixture of youth and experience. Farrell clearly sees this as an opportunity to give some young players a chance, but Wales will be wary of Joe McCarthy and former world player of the year Josh van der Flier running onto the field in the second half.

Wales have also been forced into changes by injury, with Dan Edwards and James Botham replacing Sam Costelow and Taine Plumtree at fly-half and flanker, respectively. On the wing, Ellis Mee is picked in place of Gabriel Hamer-Webb, who made his debut in Cardiff last weekend, while Bath’s Louie Hennessey is in line to win his first international cap as a substitute.

The Welsh will be travelling to Dublin in hope rather than expectation, knowing that they haven’t won a Six Nations match at the Aviva Stadium since 2012. Indeed, they may just be hoping the fact they’re wearing white shirts in this fixture for the first time is the catalyst for a change in fortunes.

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Ireland v Wales line-ups and officials

Ireland

15. Jamie Osborne
14. Robert Baloucoune
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Jack Crowley
9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Tom O’Toole
2. Dan Sheehan
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. James Ryan
5. Tadhg Beirne
6. Jack Conan
7. Nick Timoney
8. Caelan Doris (captain)

Replacements:
16. Tom Stewart
17. Michael Milne
18. Thomas Clarkson
19. Joe McCarthy
20. Josh van der Flier
21. Nathan Doak
22. Tom Farrell
23. Ciaran Frawley

Wales

15. Louis Rees-Zammit
14. Ellis Mee
13. Eddie James
12. Joe Hawkins
11. Josh Adams
10. Dan Edwards
9. Tomos Williams

1. Rhys Carré
2. Dewi Lake (captain)
3. Tomas Francis
4. Dafydd Jenkins
5. Ben Carter
6. Alex Mann
7. James Botham
8. Aaron Wainwright

Replacements:
16. Ryan Elias
17. Nicky Smith
18. Archie Griffin
19. Adam Beard
20. Ollie Cracknell
21. Kieran Hardy
22. Jarrod Evans
23. Louie Hennessey

Karl Dickson of England is the Six Nations referee for Ireland v Wales, assisted by Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Damian Schneider (Argentina). Another Englishman, Andrew Jackson, is the TMO.

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