How to watch the 2020 Six Nations: Live stream this international rugby tournament now

six nations live stream
(Image credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

2020 Six Nations live streams are now available, bringing us one of the biggest tournaments in international rugby. England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy — the six nations in question — will play five rounds of matches over the next month-and-a-half to decide a champion.

Will Wales be able to defend last year's Grand Slam title? (They're off to a great start, having decisively beaten Italy in the Six Nations 2020 opener last weekend.) Can England use its loss in the finals of last summer's rugby World Cup as motivation to beat out its five rivals? Or can some team like France or Ireland make some noise in this year's Six Nations? Rugby fans are going to want to find out the answers to these questions in the second round of matches taking place this weekend, starting with the clash between Ireland and Wales tomorrow (Feb. 8).

You've got multiple ways to live stream the 2020 Six Nations, including cable TV and subscription streaming services. We'll also talk about how to use a VPN so you don't have to miss a moment of the rugby action.

2020 Six Nations live stream start times

The 2020 Six Nations started last weekend, and the second round of matches begins this weekend with Wales taking on Ireland Saturday (Feb. 8) at 9:15 a.m. EST/6:15 a.m. PST. Scotland vs. England follows at 11:45 a.m. EST/8:45 a.m. EST, with France and Italy closing out the weekend with a match at 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST on Sunday (Feb. 9)

Matches continue over the next several weeks, with Round 3 taking place on Feb. 22/23 and Round 4 on March 7/8. The 2020 Six Nations concludes on March 14 with three final matches. We'll post a full schedule of who's playing who on what days at the end of this article.

Where to live stream the 2020 Six Nations 

U.S. viewers can watch the 2020 Six Nations live through the NBC Sports Gold subscription service. NBC Sports Channel, the network's cable channel will air the matches on tape-delay a few hours after they're completed.

In the U.K., you can watch the 2020 Six Nations on BBC and ITV. Canadian rugby fans can follow the tournament by subscribing to DAZN.

How can I use a VPN to live stream Six Nations?

With matches taking place from now until mid-March, there's a chance you might be traveling during some portions of the 2020 Six Nations. If that's the case a virtual private network, or VPN, can be your friend. A VPN can mask where you're accessing the web from, so that you can use the same streaming services abroad that you would at home, so you don't have to miss a Six Nations match.

We've tested many different services to find the best VPN overall, and our pick is ExpressVPN. We like its mix of performance and customer support, and you can get a lower price by subscribing on an annual basis.

ExpressVPN:

ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN can access more than 3,000 servers spread out across 160 locations in 94 countries. Expect reliable performance and responsive customer support should you run into trouble.

One month of ExpressVPN costs $12.95, but you can lower that to $6.67 a month if you opt for a year of service; ExpressVPN will throw in three additional months for free. There's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.


How can I live stream Six Nations?

If you want to watch the matches as they happen, you need to subscribe to NBC Sports Gold. NBC's subscription service costs $79.99 for year's subscription, and it includes all the Six Nations matches live and commercial free. You can also watch the matches on-demand if you miss the early-morning starts.

In addition to 2020 Six Nations live streams, the NBC Sports Gold rugby package also includes Premiership Rugby League coverage plus the Heineken Champions Cup. Your subscription to NBC Sports Gold runs through Aug. 16, and NBC automatically renews you for a new season, so make a note about managing your subscription if you don't want to auto-renew.

NBC Sports Gold is a standalone service, available to cable subscribers and cord cutters alike.

How else can I live stream Six Nations?

Cable subscribers may balk at paying $79.99 for NBC Sports Gold on top of their regular TV service can also watch matches on the NBC Sports Channel (NBCSN). If your TV package includes NBCSN, you can then watch the 2020 Six Nations on NBC's website or its mobile app (Android, iOS).

There's a catch, though — none of the 2020 Six Nations matches will air live on NBCSN; instead, they'll be broadcast on a same-day tape delay. It means you'll have to avoid spoilers online, but it's a less expensive way to get your rugby fix. The tape delays this Saturday aren't significant — NBCSN starts showing Ireland vs. Wales at 10 a.m. EST and Scotland vs. England at noon EST. In both cases, that's not long after the matches begin in real time.

If you don't have cable, you can turn to a subscription streaming service that carries NBCSN. Again, you won't be able to watch the 2020 Six Nations live, but it will be a cheaper option than the NBC Sports Gold package, especially if you're only interested in Six Nations matches and not the rest of NBC's rugby offerings. Here are your best options for streaming the 2020 Six Nations through NBCSN.

SlingTV:

SlingTV: If you really want to save money on streaming the 2020 Six Nations, Sling is your best bet. The service includes NBCSN in its Blue package of channels, which costs $30 a month. As part of a special promotion, you can currently get your first month of service from Sling for $5.

YouTube TV:

YouTube TV: YouTube's live TV streaming service is the next cheapest option at $50 a month, which includes 70-plus channels in addition to NBCSN. There's a cloud DVR feature for taping shows and watching them later, if you want to further time-shift NBCSN's tape-delayed coverage of the 2020 Six Nations.

Fubo.TV:

Fubo.TV: Fubo.TV touts its focus on streaming live sports, and its $55-a-month package also includes NBCSN. You get a cloud DVR feature here as well.

2020 Six Nations matches: complete schedule

Here's a complete schedule for the 2020 Six Nations.

Saturday, Feb. 1

  • Wales 42, Italy 0
  • Ireland 19, Scotland 12

Sunday, Feb. 2

  • France 24, England 17

Saturday, Feb. 8

  • Ireland vs. Wales, 9:15 a.m. EST
  • Scotland vs. England, 11:45 a.m. EST

Sunday, Feb. 9

  • France vs. Italy, 10 a.m. EST

Saturday, Feb. 22

  • Italy vs. Scotland, 9:15 a.m. EST
  • Wales vs. France 11:45 a.m. EST

Sunday, Feb. 23

  • England vs. Ireland, 10 a.m. EST

Saturday, March 7

  • Ireland vs. Italy, 9:15 a.m. EDT
  • England vs. Wales, 11:45 a.m. EDT

Sunday, March 8

  • Scotland vs. France, 11 a.m. EDT

Saturday, March 14

  • Wales vs. Scotland, 10:15 a.m. EDT
  • Italy vs. England, 12:45 a.m. EDT
  • France vs. Ireland, 4 p.m. EDT

Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.