How to watch the European final on Friday night
Bristol v Toulon live stream: How to watch the Challenge Cup match online from anywhere
This Challenge Cup showcase see Bristol make their first ever European final while Toulon are hoping to claim their fourth continental title – having won three Champions Cups in a row from 2013.
Neutrals will hope that we see some lightning-quick rugby on the articficial pitch in Aix-en-Provence and up to 1,000 fans will be allowed to attend.
Bristol originally made six changes from the side that lost the Premiership semi-final to Wasps – however, on the day of the final they have made a late change to the team, as captain Steven Luatua leaves to be at the birth of his child. Bears DoR Pat Lam said: “Steven was desperate to play and be with his team-mates so we made sure we gave him every opportunity to get here, because he’s such an important leader for our team.
“But family always comes first and Steven and Olivia has everybody’s full support at the Bears. When we spoke this morning, I told him to focus on the arrival of his trophy and we’ll try and bring back a trophy for Bristol this evening.”
Back to selections. Lock Dave Attwood starts against his former club, Alapati Leiua and Harry Randall come back in to the backline, and Dan Thomas, Yann Thomas and Kyle Sinckler bolster the pack.
And if that track is fast, the hope is that European Player of the Year nominee Semi Radradra can cut loose.
For Toulon, its all about powerful combinations. The back row of Charles Ollivon, Raphael Lakafia and Sergio Parisse (who lifted this title with Stade Francais in 2017) is seen as a danger while the half-back pairing of Baptiste Serin and Louis Carbonel will make them tick.
Springbok bruiser Eben Etzebeth is in the second row and hooker Anthony Etrillard captains the side.
Happy: Toulon celebrate a try in the semi-final (Getty Images)
Bristol: Max Malins; Luke Morahan, Semi Radradra, Siale Piutau (captain), Alapati Leiua; Callum Sheedy, Harry Randall; Yann Thomas, Harry Thacker, Kyle Sinckler, Dave Attwood, Joe Joyce, Chris Vui, Dan Thomas, Ben Earl.
Replacements: George Kloska, Jake Woolmore, John Afoa, Ed Holmes, Jake Heenan, Tom Kessell, Piers O’Conor, Niyi Adeolokun.
Toulon: Gervais Cordin; Bryce Heem, Isaia Toeava, Duncan Paia’aua, Gabin Villière; Louis Carbonel, Baptiste Serin; Jean-Baptiste Gros, Anthony Etrillard (captain), Beka Gigashvili, Eben Etzebeth, Romain Taofifenua, Charles Ollivon, Raphael Lakafia, Sergio Parisse.
Replacements: Bastien Soury, Florian Fresia, Emerick Setiano, Brian Alainu’uese, Swan Rebbadj, Julien Ory, Tane Takulua, Masivesi Dakuwaqa.
Here’s how to strea the matches wherever you are…
How to watch Bristol v Toulon from outside your country
If you’re abroad, but still want to watch your local Challenge Cup coverage, like Bristol v Toulon, 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 Challenge Cup 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.
Bristol v Toulon live stream: How to watch from the UK & Ireland
Bristol v Toulon, which kicks off at 8pm, will be shown live on BT Sport 2 in the UK and Ireland. If you don’t have a BT contract but want to watch the match, don’t worry because you can still easily watch it online.
That’s because BT Sport has a contract-free monthly pass that allows you to get instant access to all four of their sport channels for just £25.
If you’re from the UK but are overseas when Bristol v Toulon takes place, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.
Bristol v Toulon live stream: How to watch from France
To watch Bristol v Toulon (9pm) in France, beIN Sports is the place to go as they are the main rights holders. It costs €15 a month to access the coverage or if you commit to six months you get a discount of €12 a month.
This match is also available on the free-to-air station France Télévisions 4.
Bristol v Toulon live stream: How to watch from the USA
If you live in the States, the official broadcaster of Challenge Cup matches is NBC, with matches streamed on NBC Sports Gold so you can watch them anytime and anywhere.
Bristol v Toulon will kick off at UK TIME – 5 HOURS EST and UK TIME – 8 HOURS on the West Coast.
The NBC Sports Gold Pass for rugby is $79.99 and includes coverage of the Gallagher Premiership, European Challenge and Challenge Cups, and Guinness Six Nations.
Bristol v Toulon live stream: How to watch from South Africa
SuperSport has the rights to broadcast the Challenge Cup in South Africa and you can watch Bristol v Toulon at 9pm.
There are various DStv packages available that give access to SuperSport, ranging from EasyView, with access to Blitz, to Premium, with all ten sports channels.
Bristol v Toulon live stream: How to watch from elsewhere
EPCR have launched an OTT service, epcrugby.tv, so you can stream live Challenge Cup matches outside of its core broadcast territories (UK & Ireland, France, USA, Malta, Spain, Andorra and Sub-Saharan Africa).
It’s €1.99 to watch a single Challenge Cup match or you can buy a season pass to watch all of the remaining games of the 2019-20 campaign for €9.99. Or if you want to watch both the Champions and Challenge Cups, it’s €17.99 for a season pass for the rest of 2019-20.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
- Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
- 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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