- The Six Nations Championship is back! France takes on Ireland in the first game of the new season on Friday, February 2, at the Orange Velodrome in Marseille, France.
- The match kicks off at 8:00 PM GMT (3:00 PM ET).
- Ireland come in to the 2024 season as defending champions and will be looking to get off to a flying start against a strong French side.
Even though rugby is growing in popularity, it may be difficult to find a live stream for the France vs. Ireland game if you don’t live in one of the six nations that participate in the championship. If you do find a live stream, there’s a good change you’ll have to pay a hefty amount for it.
However, using a VPN, you can watch France vs. Ireland and other Six Nations championship live and free no matter where you live. Yep, that’s right, you can stream the tournament for free on platforms like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and RTE. Here’s how:
- Get a premium VPN provider, like NordVPN.
- Download and install the VPN on your favorite device.
- Connect to a server in the UK.
- Head over to the ITVX website, which will be live streaming the France vs. Ireland game.
- Find the France vs. Ireland match on ITV1.
We recommend NordVPN for watching France vs. Ireland in the Six Nations Championship as it has a vast server network in the UK and offers consistently fast speeds!
Our full guide provides in-depth steps on setting up a VPN and also highlights some alternate streams you can use to catch the Six Nations championship for free!
The 2024 Guinness Six Nations Championship kicks off on February 2, 2024, with France taking on Ireland in the first match. The Orange Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France, will play host to the inaugural game, which kicks off at 8:00 PM GMT (3:00 PM ET).
Rugby fans will be delighted to know that they can watch all matches of the Six Nations Championship, including France vs. Ireland, for free! ITVX and BBC iPlayer, two popular British streaming services, will carry live action from all the games. However, if you live outside the UK, these services won’t be accessible due to geo-blocking.
Luckily, a virtual private network (VPN) lets you circumvent geo-blocking and watch Six Nations Rugby live and free from anywhere in the world. NordVPN is an excellent streaming VPN due to its reliable unblocking and bullet speeds. It also has an extensive server network in the UK! Use our link below to get an exclusive discount on your NordVPN subscription.
Live Stream France vs. Ireland for Free: Step-by-Step Guide
Setting up a VPN is an incredibly easy process that should take no longer than five minutes. Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Get a NordVPN subscription. It’s our best streaming VPN in 2024, as it unblocks virtually every streaming website and does not affect internet connection speeds.
- Download and install NordVPN on your preferred streaming device.
- Log in to the NordVPN app with the credentials you created while signing up in Step 1.
- Connect to a server in the UK.
- Head over to the ITV website and create an account. Setting up an account only requires an email ID and UK zip code (which can easily be found on the internet.
- Tune into ITV1 on game day, i.e., February 2nd, and look for the France vs. Ireland match-up.
- Watch the defending champs, Ireland, kick off their campaign against the mighty French team!
VPN Troubleshooting:
If you can’t access ITV despite following the steps listed above, try one of the following workarounds:
- Use a private or incognito browser window.
- Try a privacy friendly browser, like Mozilla Firefox.
- Clear your browsing history and cookies.
Where do I Watch France vs. Ireland for Free?
Rugby is an immensely popular sport in the UK. It is, therefore, no surprise that two of its most prominent broadcasters, ITV and BBC, will be showcasing the streams for free. They will showcase live action from all games between them, with ITV1 carrying the France vs. Ireland game on February 2nd.
However, like other sports streaming services, BBC and ITV are only accessible to users in the UK. If you live outside the UK, you’ll get an error message when trying to stream live rugby action on either platform.
A VPN is especially useful in this situation. It encrypts your internet traffic and redirects it through servers located in another country, such as the UK. This changes your IP address and tricks streaming websites into believing that you’re actually based in the country where the server is located.
With more than 440 UK servers, NordVPN is our recommended VPN for the France vs. Ireland rugby game. If you’re a first-time user, you can avail NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee and watch a majority of the tournament for free!
France vs. Ireland: Six Nations Championship – Alternate Live Streams
Having problems accessing ITVX? You can try one of the alternate live streams for the France vs. Ireland game listed below. Please note that some alternate streams require a subscription and are not free like ITV and BBC.
| Platform | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|
| France TV | France | Free |
| Virgin Media One | Ireland | Free |
| Peacock | US | $6/month |
| DStv Stream (Supersport) | South Africa | $4.25/month |
| Movistar Deportes | Spain | $14/month |
| Sky Sports Now | New Zealand | $37.5/month |
| Ziggo Sport Totaal | Netherlands | $37.5/month |
| Stan Sport | Australia | $25/month ($10 for Stan, $15 for the Stan Sport add-on) |
NordVPN has a strong presence in all of the countries listed above. Hence, you can use it to unblock pretty much all these streaming services. If you’re unable to watch France vs. Ireland on ITV1, we’d recommend checking out Virgin One or FranceTV using Irish and French NordVPN servers, respectively.
Guinness Six Nations Championship: February Schedule
France vs. Ireland is only the first of many enticing Six Nations rugby matches scheduled for February and March 2024. We’ve compiled a list of all the matches you can watch over the next month below.
| Date | Match | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd February, 2024 | France vs. Ireland | Orange Velodrome, Marseille |
| 3rd February, 2024 | Italy vs. England | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |
| 3rd February, 2024 | Wales vs. Scotland | Principality Stadium, Cardiff |
| 10th February, 2024 | Scotland vs. France | Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh |
| 10th February, 2024 | England vs. Wales | Twickenham Stadium, London |
| 11th February, 2024 | Ireland vs. Italy | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 24th February, 2024 | Ireland vs. Wales | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 24th February, 2024 | Scotland vs. England | Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh |
| 25th February, 2024 | France vs. Italy | Decathlon Arena, Lille |
If you want to the full schedule for the Six Nations Championship, check out our extensive guide to watching the Six Nations tournament for free from anywhere.
