British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream — how to watch third Test free

British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream: Ali Price of the Lions passes the ball
(Image credit: David Rogers / Getty)

It's time for the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream of the third test, and this one's got it all on the line. Yes, even though Lions took the win in the first Test, the Springboks' aerial attack in the second Test proved too much.

British & Irish Lions vs South Africa third test: time, date, channel

The British & Irish Lions vs South Africa third Test is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. BST / 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT today (Saturday, August 7).
• U.S. — Watch live on Peacock or on tape delay on NBCSN on Sling
• U.K. — Watch on Sky Sports
• Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk free

The Lions need to get their composure in check, as the last 20 minutes saw their side give up eight penalties. Too much shoving and distracting, not enough focus and work.

Not all news is bad for their side, though, fly-half Finn Russell is now available for play, recovering from an Achilles tendon injury. He'll be added to the bench as backup, alongside Adam Beard and Sam Simmonds.

South Africa has some bad news to handle and adjust to, having lost Faf de Klerk and Pieter-Steph du Toit — two key squad-mates — to injury. Cobus Reinach will be coming in to fill in for De Klerk.

As with the first and second Tests, the game will take place in the Cape Town Stadium, a venue South Africa have now not won at since 2014. And once again, there won't be any spectators there to cheer them on, with Covid having put paid to that option. 

Lions' Head coach Warren Gatland's shaken his lineup up something seriously in reaction to the mistakes made last week. For example, Anthony Watson and Stuart Hogg are not in the starting or replacing lineups.

Here's how they line up:

British & Irish Lions: Williams; Adams, Henshaw, Aki, van der Merwe; Biggar, Price; Jones, Owens, Furlong, Itoje, Wyn Jones (c), Lawes, Curry, Conan

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Vunipola, Sinckler*, Beard, Simmonds, Murray, Russell, Daly

South Africa: Le Roux; Kolbe, Am, De Allende, Mapimpi; Pollard, Reinach; Kitshoff, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, De Jager, Kolisi (c), Mostert, Wiese

Replacements: Marx, Nyakane, Koch, Van Staden, Smith, Jantjies, Steyn, Willemse

This looks like a massive conclusion to this series of Tests, and you can watch it all via a British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream, from 5 p.m. BST (12 p.m. ET) Saturday. Read on to find out how to watch the third Lions Test wherever you are.

How to watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream from outside your country

It's natural that you might want to watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa third Test live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the game is on?

Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.

For instance, a Brit who's currently in the U.S. could watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream on Sky Sports, even though they're not in the U.K. 

They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is ExpressVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

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Speed, security and simplicity make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. In our testing, we were impressed by its fast connection times and by its ability to access more than 3,000 services in 160 locations across 94 countries. Plus, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to Sky Sports or another website and watch the game.

How to watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream in the US

how to watch British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream — US flag

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Rugby Union fans in the U.S. can watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream of the third Test on NBC's family of networks and their affiliated streaming service Peacock. It's live on Peacock at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT  today (August 7), and then airing NBCSN on tape-delay at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, August 8.

If you've cut the cord and don't get NBC SN through your cable package, you can access those channels through Sling TV and Fubo TV, two of the picks on our best streaming services list. 

If you're usually based in the U.K. and have a valid TV licence, but you're in the U.S. at the moment, you can watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream for free by using a VPN such as ExpressVPN to access Sky Sports online.

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Peacock boasts a great library, including the entirety of The Office. It's also home to a ton of sports beyond the Olympics, like WWE wrestling, the Premier League, golf and rugby. Peacock Free costs nothing, while the Premium tiers offer access to originals and more movies.

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Sling TV offers two packages, both priced at $35/month. The Sling Blue plan comes with 30-plus channels and includes NBC and NBC SN. Sling is currently offering $25 dollars off the first month.

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If you love sports, check out Fubo.TV. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front and has dozens of sports channels, with NBC and NBC SN among them. 

How to watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream in the UK

how to watch British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream — British flag

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Sky Sports is the home of the Lions tour in the U.K., so rugby fans should point their remotes to the pay-TV service to catch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa third Test live stream. The game starts at 5 p.m. BST today (July 31), but coverage begins at 3.30 p.m. 

If you can cope with not watching it live, Channel 4 will be showing highlights later in the day, which means it'll also be available via its All 4 online portal.   

If you're not in the U.K. but have a valid U.K. TV licence, you can still follow the Lions tour game by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN

How to watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream in South Africa

British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream — South African flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The Lions tour will obviously be big news in the rugby-mad host nation, and the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream will be shown exclusively on subscription service SuperSport. 

That means you can also tune in via the network's streaming service for PC and Mac, and via its dedicated smartphone app for iOS and Android.

Not at home but want to follow the game on SuperSport as if you were? A VPN such as ExpressVPN could be the answer.

How to watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream in Australia

How to watch British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream — Australia flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Streaming service Stan will be showing every Lions game in Australia, which means Aussies can watch the British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream via its new Stan Sports platform.

If you're not currently in Australia, you can use a VPN such as ExpressVPN to watch all the action on your Stan account, just like if you were back home. Just bear in mind either way that the time difference isn't helpful to Aussie rugby fans — the game begins at 4 a.m. AEST.

how to watch British & Irish Lions vs South Africa live stream — VPN statement

Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.