How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final: England vs South Africa
England faces South Africa in the Rugby World Cup Final for chance to round up a great year for British sport
After six weeks of actions, only two teams are left standing from the 20 that started the tournament. 2003 Rugby World Cup winners, England and South Africa, who won the William Web Ellis Cup in the next tournament in 2007.
The Rugby World Cup 2019 Final between England and South Africa takes place at 9am GMT on Saturday, 2 November. Wales won third-place after defeating Wales 40-17 on Friday.
Any way you look at it, this has been a successful year for England. Four English teams qualified for finals of both the Europa League and Champions League earlier this year, England won the 2019 Cricket World Cup at home, and Lewis Hamilton is coasting to yet another Formula 1 Championship.
England can add to this impressive tally by defeating the Springboks this weekend. The game takes place at the purpose-built Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, which can accommodate over 70,000 people.
New Zealand won the last Rugby World Cup (2015) by defeating neighbours Australia. In doing so, they became the first team to retain their title and become the first team to win the World Cup for the third time.
Coincidentally, England knocked out both Australia and New Zealand in successive knockout rounds en route to making Saturday’s final. In doing so, they not only halted the All Black’s dominant World Cup run, but they also displaced them from the top of the men’s Rugby rankings. Not surprisingly, South Africa is close behind in second place.
Unlike other recently-concluded sporting events, all the games of the Rugby World Cup 2019 are being broadcast for free on ITV in the UK, meaning you won’t have to pay a penny provided you have a valid TV license. It also means you can stream the games live from anywhere in the world for free using a good VPN service (scroll to the bottom of the page).
READ NEXT: How to watch the NBA
England vs South Africa: Rugby World Cup 2019 Final
England team for the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final
Head coach: Eddie Jones
Team: Elliott Daly, Anthony Watson, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (captain), Jonny May, George Ford, Ben Youngs, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Billy Vunipola
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Marler, Dan Cole, George Kruis, Mark Wilson, Ben Spencer, Henry Slade, Jonathan Joseph
South Africa team for the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final
Head coach: Rassie Erasmus
Team: Willie Le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian De Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Faf De Klerk, Tendai Mtawarira, Mbongeni Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, De Jager, Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Duane Vermeulen
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitschoff, Vincent Koch, Rg Snyman, Franco Mostert, Francois Louw, Herschel Jantjies, Frans Steyn
England’s road the Rugby World Cup Final
- Defeated Tonga 35-3
- Defeated USA 45-7
- Defeated Argentina 39-10
- France match cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis
- Defeated Australia 40-16 in the quarter-final
- Defeated New Zealand 19-7 in the semi-final
South Africa’s road to the Rugby World Cup Final
- Lost to New Zealand 23-13
- Defeated Namibia 57-3
- Defeated Italy 49-3
- Defeated Canada 66-7
- Defeated Japan 26-3 in the quarter-final
- Defeated Wales 19-6 in the semi-final
READ NEXT: How to watch the Premier League
How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final
How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final free in the UK: ITV
ITV is the official broadcaster of the tournament in the UK. The ITV broadcasting team is led by Mark Pougatch and Jill Douglas, with an experienced pundit line-up in the form of Sir Clive Woodward, Bryan Habana, Jonny Wilkinson, Sam Warburton, Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell, Gareth Thomas, and others.
ITV has designed an interactive set to allow its presenters to demonstrate different plays, similar to what you see on the Premier League and other broadcast coverage. The coverage will also include a new version of the iconic Rugby World Cup anthem, World In Union, by Emeli Sande as its theme music.
How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final in the USA: NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the official broadcaster of the Rugby World Cup 2019 in the US. If you don’t have the channel, then the best way to watch the tournament is via the streaming service, NBC Sports Gold, which gives you three options to watch the tournament.
You can either purchase a Single Match Pass for $29.99 or a Rugby World Cup Pass for $199.99, which gives you access to all 48 games live and on-demand. The third tier is the All-Access Premium Rugby Pass which costs $229.99. Apart from access to all the games live and on-demand, this pass also gives you access to the Six Nations Championship, EPCR, Premiership Rugby League and more.
How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final in Australia: Kayo Sports
If you’re based in Australia, then sports streaming service Kayo Sports is where you’ll be able to watch all the games live. The service lets you stream over 50 sports on any of your devices. Its basic plan costs $25 and lets you stream content to two devices simultaneously.
You can increase this to three devices by subscribing to its Premium plan, which costs $35. The channel broadcasts other sporting events, including the EFL Championship, Formula 1 and NFL, among dozens of other sports and even e-sports.
How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final free in New Zealand: Spark Sport
The All Blacks have been one of the most dominant teams in any sport for over a decade. Even though England put an end to their third successive World Cup campaign, New Zealand did well to win the bronze medal on Friday, proving they are still one of the strongest teams in the sport.
You can watch that game and the Rugby World Cup final for free on SparkSport. Apart from rugby, the streaming service also lets you watch the Premier League, Formula 1 racing and other sporting tournaments from around the world.
How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final abroad
All the aforementioned streaming services are geoblocked, meaning you won’t be able to access ITV from outside the UK, NBC Sports Gold from outside the US, and so on, unless you’re using a good VPN service. While there are tons of VPNs out there, not all of them will give you access to these premium streaming services. Others may give you access, but will take ages to buffer, which is the worst thing to happen when you’re watching live sport.
READ NEXT: Best VPN services
Thankfully, we’ve separated the wheat from the chaff to bring you the best VPN services that will let you subscribe to, login and watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 on any of your devices, regardless of where you are. Both the VPNs we recommend below can be used on multiple devices and have 24/7 customer support who will help you watch the games live. They both even have a generous 30-day refund policy if you’re unhappy with the service.
ExpressVPN: Among all the VPNs we’ve reviewed, ExpressVPN comes out on top, time and again. It has the fastest speed and highest security. To prove that your data is in safe hands, the company has successfully completed an independent audit by PwC to prove that it doesn’t log or store any user data. You can use it on five devices at the same time and our readers get three months off on the one-year plan, saving you a massive 49!
CyberGhost: CyberGhost VPN has useful streaming tabs on its PC and Mac client and its mobile apps, which let you access to over 35 different worldwide streaming services with the click of a button. You can use it on seven devices at the same time and the service has a 45-day money-back guarantee if you’re unhappy with it, so you really have nothing to lose.