England fans will not be able to watch this summer’s Test against Japan on television although they will be able to tune in for free.

Steve Borthwick’s side kick off their summer tour away in Japan against former coach Eddie Jones’s Brave Blossoms on 22 June and will become the first England side to play in an official Test on Japanese soil.

Read more: Even Quins fans should cheer for Owen Farrell in his Saracens swansong

How to watch England’s match against Japan for free

The match starts at 6.50am in the UK and will be streamed for free for fans in the UK and Ireland on World Rugby’s RugbyPass TV platform.

It will be the first time an England men’s Test match has not been televised by a traditional broadcaster in recent times and marks the first match shown on RugbyPass TV outside of the Rugby World Cup, which the game’s governing body World Rugby has the rights to.

England’s two matches away in New Zealand on 6 July and 13 July are due to be shown on Sky Sports.

England Rugby Marketing Director Ewan Turney said: “This is an exciting partnership with World Rugby to enable all fans in the UK and Ireland to watch this historic match for free. 

“We know that younger audiences are gravitating towards streaming platforms and fans are watching matches on a multitude of devices, so we have chosen this free-to-air route.” 

James Rothwell, Chief Marketing and Content Officer at World Rugby, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the RFU to provide fans in the UK and Ireland with exclusive access on RugbyPass TV to what will be an historic match, the first official test match between Japan and England in Japan. 

“Provision of world-class live content and unique storytelling is core to RugbyPass TV’s mission to broaden rugby’s accessibility and World Rugby Studios will be producing comprehensive coverage for fans on RugbyPass TV, including a pre-match, half-time and post-match show and commentary.  

“Importantly, this marquee live event represents a continuation of our strategic focus on programming in both the UK and Japan. We have recently finished production on Japan U, a series following the most successful university teams in Japan and their stars which will be available in English and Japanese. We will also be producing our next series of Embedded’with the England U20s in South Africa in June.”  

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.