Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch the 1888 Cup

Tune into the pre-tour fixture at BT Murrayfield wherever you are in the world

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Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch the 1888 Cup

The British & Irish Lions 2021 squad play Japan at BT Murrayfield today (kick-off 3pm) in the 1888 Cup.

The ‘home’ game is the final part of the Lions’ preparations for their eight-match tour to South Africa, which includes three Tests against the world champions.

A total of 16,500 fans will be in attendance at Murrayfield to see this year’s Lions in action for the first time – which combinations will click? Will the game plan be clear? Will they get off to a winning start? So many questions and by this evening we should have a few answers!

Japan haven’t played on the international stage since reaching the quarter-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup so this is a big occasion for the Brave Blossoms too and they have selected an experienced line-up.

Related: Japan coach Jamie Joseph on facing the Lions

Here are how the teams line up and below we explain how to find a reliable live stream of the match wherever you are in the world.

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: Liam Williams; Josh Adams, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Dan Biggar, Conor Murray; Rory Sutherland, Ken Owens, Tadhg Furlong, Iain Henderson, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Tadhg Beirne, Justin Tipuric, Jack Conan.

Replacements: Jamie George, Wyn Jones, Kyle Sinckler, Courtney Lawes, Taulupe Faletau, Ali Price, Owen Farrell, Anthony Watson.

JAPAN: Ryohei Yamanaka; Kotaro Matsushima, Timothy Lafaele, Ryoto Nakamura, Siosaia Fifita; Yu Tamura, Kaito Shigeno; Keita Inagaki, Atsushi Sakate, Ji-won Koo, Wimpie van der Walt, James Moore, Michael Leitch (captain), Lappies Labuschagne, Amanaki Mafi.

Replacements: Kosuke Horikoshi, Craig Millar, Asaeli Ai Valu, Jack Cornelsen, Kazuki Himeno, Tevita Tatafu, Naoto Saito, Rikiya Matsuda.

How to watch Lions v Japan from outside your country

If you’re abroad, but still want to watch your local rugby coverage, like Lions v Japan, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.

VPNs allow you to get around any geo-blocking by changing your IP address so you appear in a different location and can watch the same legal Premiership live stream you would at home.

Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPN and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and allows you to watch on several devices at once, including smart TVs and phones, iPads, tablets, PCs and Macs.

Plus, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it out for a month for free or sign up for an annual plan and get three months free.

Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch from the UK

This pre-tour fixture is available on free-to-air TV as Channel 4 has the rights to broadcast Lions v Japan live from Edinburgh.

Coverage starts at 2.15pm, with host Lee McKenzie joined by Lions legends Sir Ian McGeechan and Sam Warburton as well as Springboks great Bryan Habana.

If you’re from the UK but are overseas when the Lions v Japan match takes place, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.

All the Lions’ matches in South Africa, including the three Tests against the Springboks, will be televised live on Sky Sports. Sky TV and Sports packages are available from £45 a month.

Highlights of all tour matches will also be available on free-to-air TV – Channel4/All 4 and S4C.

Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch from the USA

If you live in the States, NBC has the rights to 2021 Lions matches, with games streamed on Peacock Premium, which is available for $4.99 a month.

Unfortunately it doesn’t look like the Japan match will be shown on Peacock, but the tour matches in South Africa will.

Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch from Australia

For those in Australia, streaming service Stan Sport has the exclusive rights to show British & Irish Lions matches in 2021 and the 1888 Cup match kicks off at midnight AET.

It costs $10 a month to add Stan Sport to your general Stan plan – and there is also a seven-day free trial available so you could test it out for this match.

Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch from New Zealand

Lions v Japan (kick-off 2am in the early hours of Sunday morning NZ time) will be live on Sky Sport NZ 1.

It costs $31.99 a month to add Sky Sport to your Sky Starter pack ($25.99) but if you sign up for 12 months before 30 June 2021 you’ll get your first month free. Plus, you’ll get Sky Go, which allows you to watch live rugby wherever you are.

Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch from South Africa

This match kicks off at 4pm South African time and will be shown live on SuperSport’s Rugby, Grandstand and CSN channels.

There are various DStv packages available that give access to SuperSport, ranging from Access, which has the Blitz and Variety 4 channels, to Premium, which includes all 18 sports channels.

Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch from Japan

JSPORTS will be showing 2021 Lions matches in Japan and their fixture against the Brave Blossoms kicks off at 11am Japan time.

Lions v Japan live stream: How to watch from Asia

Outside of Japan, Premier Sports Asia has the rights to broadcast British & Irish Lions matches, like Ireland v Georgia, in Asia and will show matches in 22 territories – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

A monthly subscription to Premier Sports Asia is $25.99 or a rolling annual contract is $129.99.

We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:

  1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
  2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad

We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing. 

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