The mighty Springboks face their biggest Nations Championship challenge yet
Watch France v South Africa as the reigning Six Nations champions take on the number one side in the world in this weekend’s epic Nations Championship opener.
This game doesn’t really need any additional hype, as the two deepest squads on the planet go head-to-head under the Friday night lights in Paris.
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus is clearly taking the game seriously, making just one change (Wilco Louw replacing Thomas du Toit in the front row) to the starting XV that thrashed Italy last weekend. France, meanwhile head into the game in the midst of a fly-half injury crisis, with Antoine Dupont set to make a rare appearance in the number 10 jersey while Maxime Lucu comes in at scrum-half.
The match gets underway at 8.10pm GMT at the Stade de France in Paris. Lucky fans in the UK, France, Ireland and the US can watch France v South Africa for free, but the good news is that you can still tune in if you’re travelling overseas this weekend. Read on to find out how you can use a VPN to watch the action wherever you are in the world. Scroll down to find out more…
You’ll find a match preview and team line-ups further down the page.
Key information
– France v South Africa date: Friday 13 November 2026
– France v South Africa kick-off time: 8.10pm GMT / 9.10pm CET / 10.10pm SAST / 7.10am AEDT (Saturday) / 9.10am NZDT (Saturday) / 3.10pm ET / 12.10pm PT
– France v South Africa venue: Stade de France, Paris, France
– France v South Africa free streams: ITVX (UK), TF1+ (France), Virgin Media Play (Ireland), RugbyPass TV (US)
– Watch from anywhere: Unlock your stream with NordVPN (77% off with this Black Friday deal)
Free live streams for France v South Africa in the UK
You can watch France v South Africa live streams for free on streaming service ITVX in the UK. You can also tune in to this Friday night game on terrestrial channel ITV1.
Kick-off is at 8.10pm GMT, with pre-match coverage starting at 7.15pm.
ITVX is free to use, but you do need to complete a simple sign-up process to access the service. You also need an up-to-date TV Licence to stream live TV in the UK.
Stream France v Springboks from anywhere
Being overseas doesn’t mean you have to miss any of the weekend’s Nations Championship action. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) allows you to change your IP address, meaning you can avoid geo-blocking restrictions and stream France v South Africa wherever you are – it’s like you’re sitting at home on your own sofa.
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France v South Africa match preview
There would be few complaints if this turns out to be the Nations Championship grand final in a fortnight’s time.
In the northern hemisphere corner are France, the back-to-back Six Nations champions and arguably the most complete side in Europe. Representing the southern hemisphere are South Africa who, under the relentless Rassie Erasmus, have won… well, pretty much everything. In other words, it’s hard to think of a better opening fixture for a weekend of Nations Championship action than France v Springboks under the Friday night lights in Paris.
Les Bleus will still be smarting from their impossibly tight 29-28 quarter-final defeat to South Africa in their home 2023 World Cup, though the Springboks did show their class in a 32-17 victory at the Stade de France last year. Head coach Fabien Galthié is suffering a crisis at fly-half, with injuries to Matthieu Jalibert and Romain Ntamack forcing him to start scrum-half Antoine Dupont in the number 10 shirt alongside Maxime Lucu. Even so, any side that can call on the free-scoring Louis Bielle-Biarrey is going to be a threat to anyone.
Erasmus, meanwhile, clearly isn’t taking anything for granted, despite his reputation for experimentation. There are just two changes to the matchday 23 that humbled Italy in Turin, with Wilco Louw replacing Thomas du Toit and tighthead, and Cobus Reinach coming in for Grant Williams on the bench.
Expect fireworks in the French capital.
The talismanic Antoine Dupont will start at fly-half against the Springboks (Harry Murphy – Nations Championship/Nations Championship via Getty Images)
France v South Africa free streams in France
French fans can tune in for free on both TF1 and the TF1+ streaming service.
Coverage of France v Springboks starts at 9.00pm CET, 10 minutes ahead of the 9.10pm kick-off.
French fans who are away from home but want to follow the action with their usual French language commentary can still access their TF1 coverage from overseas by using a VPN, such as NordVPN.
How to watch France v Springboks for FREE in Ireland
Virgin Media Television is the place to watch France v South Africa live streams for free in Ireland. Free coverage is available on both the Virgin Media Play streaming service and terrestrial channel Virgin Media One.
Pre-match build-up starts at 7.30pm GMT, before the game gets underway at 8.10pm.
France v South Africa live streams around the world
South Africa: Springboks fans looking to follow their team in Nations Championship action need to head to subscription service SuperSport (available on DStv and streaming) to watch France v South Africa live streams. The match gets underway at 10.10pm SAST tonight.
United States: In the US you can watch France v Springboks, along with all the Nations Championship games, on World Rugby’s RugbyPass TV. It’s FREE TO USE, though you do need to register before you can start streaming the action. Kick-off is at 3.10pm ET/ 12.10pm PT this afternoon.
Australia: Stan Sport is showing France v South Africa live streams down under. You’ll need a base Stan package (monthly fees start at $4.99 per month for a limited time) plus a Stan Sport subscription (which will cost you $20 per month, and also gives you access to Premier League soccer and loads more). Kick-off is 7.10am AEDT on Saturday morning.
New Zealand: You can watch the All Blacks’ Nations Championship rivals on Sky Sport, which costs $59.99 per month for a streaming subscription. Kick-off is at 9.10am NZDT on Saturday morning – a brilliant way to start the weekend.
France v South Africa teams and officials
France
15. Théo Attissogbe
14. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang
13. Kalvin Gourgues
12. Yoram Moefana
11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey
10. Antoine Dupont (captain)
9. Maxime Lucu
1. Jean-Baptiste Gros
2. Julien Marchand
3. Sipili Falatea
4. Florian Verhaeghe
5. Mickaël Guillard
6. François Cros
7. Cameron Woki
8. Grégory Aldritt
Replacements:
16. Peato Mauvaka
17. Rodrigue Neti
18. Régis Montagne
19. Charles Ollivon
20. Tom Staniforth
21. Esteban Capilla
22. Axel Desperes
23. Émilien Gailleton
South Africa
15. Damian Willemse
14. Kurt-Lee Arendse
13. Jesse Kriel
12. Damian de Allende
11. Ethan Hooker
10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
9. Morne van den Berg
1. Ox Nche
2. Malcolm Marx
3. Wilco Louw
4. Lood de Jager
5. Ruan Nortje
6. Siya Kolisi (captain)
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit
8. Jasper Wiese
Replacements:
16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels
17. Gerhard Steenekamp
18. Thomas du Toit
19. Franco Mostert
20. Cameron Hanekom
21. Paul de Villiers
22. Cobus Reinach
23. Manie Libbok
Italy’s Andrea Piardi takes charge of France v South Africa, assisted by Christophe Ridley of England and Gianluca Gnecchi of Italy. Another Italian, Matteo Liperini, is in the TMO booth.
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