In no particular order, here is a list of free and premium rugby streaming sites.
Rugbypass [Link]
Rugbypass is a premium rugby streaming service, offered in many Asian countries.
$7.99 weekly / $19.99 monthly / $159.99 yearly
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Six Nations, The Rugby Championship, June & November Internationals, Super Rugby, European Champions Cup, Aviva Premiership, Mitre10 Cup, Currie Cup, selected matches from the Pro14 and Top14
Geo unblock - watch from anywhereDazn [Link]
Dazn is a relative newcomer to the world of sports streaming. It’s a legal service that broadcasts many sports, including rugby union.
€9.99 per month
Germany, Austria, Italy, USA, Switzerland, Canada and Japan.
Rugby 7s tournaments, 6 Nations, Rugby World Cup, Aviva Premiership. Updates here, regarding countries where it’s available.
Geo unblock - watch from anywhere
BBC iPlayer [Link]
Free
UK
6 Nations, some international games
Geo unblock - watch from anywhereITV Player [Link]
Free
UK
6 Nations, Rugby World Cup
Geo unblock - watch from anywhereChannel 4 [Link]
Free
UK
Some internationals
Geo unblock - watch from anywhereTV Catchup [Link]
Free
Worldwide
Stream BBC and ITV for free, outside the UK. Watch any game that BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV 1 or ITV 2 is broadcasting.
S4C [Link]
Free
Welsh channel, showing Pro14
UK, perhaps more, details here. Also available on TV catchup, see above.
Premier Sports [Link]
£9.99 per month
UK
Information on rugby union coverage here
NowTV [Link]
NowTV is the official online streaming service from Sky Sports UK. They are quite expensive, recommend looking at other options before them.
£7.99 per day / £12.99 per week / £33.99 per month / 10 month Sky Sports Season Ticket for £179 (Limited time)
UK (You can also watch in Europe, according to the site)
Geo unblock - watch from anywhereRTE Player [Link]
Free
Ireland
6 Nations, Rugby World Cup
Geo unblock - watch from anywhereTV3 Ireland [Link]
Free
Ireland
TG4 Ireland [Link]
Irish language channel
Free
Pro14
Ireland
EirSport (Ireland) [Link]
Available with broadband package/separate, additional premium package with Sky TV Ireland
Ireland, discussion here
Guinness PRO14, Champions Cup Rugby, 2019 Rugby World Cup, Gallagher Premiership Rugby
Geo unblock - watch from anywhereWorld Rugby – Official Website [Link]
Free
Worldwide
Tournaments: U20 Rugby World Cup, World Rugby Nations Cup, other less well-known tournaments
I use NordVPN (disclosure: affiliate link, please consider using this link if you find this guide useful, thank you!) More information regarding how they keep your data private from their FAQ.
Using a VPN also allows you to stream from sites that are restricted to certain countries (geo-unblock).
Useful Software, Tools and Tutorials
- Adblocker – I recommend uBlock Origin. Many streaming sites are plastered with annoying ads. Block them with this software. Free.
- Livestreamer software. Instead of watching in your browser, you can instead stream to VLC or other media players of your choice. This is for more advanced users, involves using a command line. Free and open source.
- Acestream. Best quality, HD streams with minimal lag. Here is my guide to setting up Acestream for rugby games. Free.
- Sopcast(Windows, OS X, Ubuntu) – popular p2p desktop streaming software Website
- Acestream(Windows, Mac with workarounds) – Very popular p2p client. Download, guide
- Flash– still sticking around and often needed for streaming, the latest version comes installed with Chrome Website
- How to setup AceStream on Mac
- Setup Sopcast on Ubuntu Linux