France vs Ireland live stream — how to watch Six Nations 2022 clash online

Antoine Dupont of France and James Ryan of Ireland could both feature in the France vs Ireland live stream
(Image credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images / Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

The France vs Ireland live stream looks like a fascinating clash between the two favorites for this year's Six Nations championship (although Scotland may also have an eye on that).

France vs Ireland live stream, date, time, channels

The France vs Ireland live stream takes place Saturday, February 12.
Time 4.45 p.m. GMT / 11.45 a.m. ET / 8.45 a.m. PT
• U.K. — Watch FOR FREE on ITV Hub
• U.S. — Watch on Peacock (requires Premium or Premium Plus subscription)
• Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk free

Ireland are on a seriously impressive 10-game run of victories that includes wins against New Zealand and England and looked awesome in beating Wales 29-7 last weekend. However, they received a massive blow this week when captain Johnny Sexton suffered an injury in training. He's expected to be back for Ireland's next game against Italy, but will miss the France match and has been replaced at fly-half by Joey Carbery. 

The Irish are otherwise unchanged from the Wales game and will still fancy their chances of winning in Paris. But the French will be no pushovers. They finished second in last year's tournament, and indeed they beat the Irish 15-13 in Dublin last time they faced each other; in fact, that was Ireland's last loss.

They enjoyed a comfortable 37-10 win over Italy in their first game and have made two changes here, with Bordeaux centre Yoram Moefana replacing the injured Jonathan Danty and Francois Cros coming in for Dylan Cretin in the back row.

Here's how they line up:

Ireland: Keenan; Conway, Ringrose, Aki, Hansen; Carbery, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Furlong; Beirne, Ryan; Doris, van der Flier, Conan.

Replacements: Sheehan, Healy, Bealham, Henderson, O'Mahony, Murray, Carty, Henshaw.

France: Jaminet; Penaud, Fickou, Moefana, Villiere; Ntamack, Dupont; Baille, Marchand, Atonio; Woki, Willemse; Cros, Jelonch, Alldritt.

Replacements: Mauvaka, Gros, Bamba, Taofifenua, Flament, Cretin, Lucu, Ramos,

The France vs Ireland live stream promises to be the game of the weekend, so you won't want to miss it. Read on and we'll show you how to watch. And don't forget to also turn in to the Wales vs Scotland live stream and Italy vs England live stream for more Six Nations rugby this weekend.

How to watch the France vs Ireland live stream for free in the UK

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The entire Six Nations rugby will be shown on free-to-air TV in the U.K. — and that's great news wherever you are.

The games are being split between BBC and ITV, but in the case of the France vs Ireland live stream you'll find it on ITV or ITV Hub, with kick off set for 4.45 p.m. GMT.

If, however, you're a Brit with a valid TV licence who isn't in the U.K. right now, you can still watch services from your home country. All you'll need is one of the best VPN services, like ExpressVPN. Read on and we'll explain…

How to watch the France vs Ireland live stream in the Six Nations wherever you are

The France vs Ireland live stream will be shown on many different channels across the world, but what if you're not in your home country and want to watch it on your usual service?

The answer is to use a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN will let you tune into your home coverage from wherever you are — meaning that if you're abroad, you can use one of the best VPN services to watch the games live as if you were in your lounge.

Our favorite right now is ExpressVPN, thanks to its combination of superb speed, great customer service and excellent device support. It also offers a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you could check it out without having to sign up long term.

ExpressVPN

Speed, security and simplicity combine to make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. In our testing, we were impressed by its fast connection times and by its ability to access more than 3,000 services in 160 locations across 94 countries. A 30-day money-back guarantee is another bonus.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to ITV Hub or another service and watch the game.

Exclusive Tom's Guide Discount: Save 49% on the 12-month ExpressVPN plan

How to watch the France vs Ireland live stream in the US

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Rugby fans in the U.S. can watch the France vs Ireland live stream on Peacock, NBC's streaming service. To tune in, you'll need to be signed up for either a Premium subscription ($4.99/month) or Premium Plus ($9.99/month, which also gets rid of ads. 

The game starts at 11.45 a.m. ET / 8.45 a.m. PT.

If you're outside of the U.S. but still have the right Peacock subscription, you can watch the France vs Ireland live stream by using a VPN such as ExpressVPN.

Peacock TV

In addition to showing the Six Nations rugby and selected Premier League 21/22 live streams, Peacock also has huge library of licensed content drawn from various brands. That includes shows like 30 Rock, The Voice, Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order: SVU and This Is Us.

How to watch the France vs Ireland live stream in Canada

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Canadian rugby union fans can watch the France vs Ireland live stream on DAZN

Sadly, DAZN no longer offers new customers a 30-day free-trial period, so you'll have to pay the $20 CAD per month fee, although you can save a little by buying annually ($150 CAD). DAZN, if you're unfamiliar, has apps on every single streaming platform there is.

Canadians stuck abroad that still want their low-price alternative can use a VPN such as ExpressVPN to trick their streaming device into thinking it's back in the great white north.

How to watch the France vs Ireland live stream in Australia

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Those lucky Aussies can watch the France vs Ireland live stream on Stan Sport and enjoy all the Six Nations action from the other side of the globe. 

Stan can be accessed via a wide variety of devices including many smart TVs, iOS and Android phones, Chromecast, Apple TV and more — plus it costs a very reasonable $20 AUD per month ($10 for a standard subscription and $10 for the Sport add-on). A 7-day FREE trial gives you a taste of the platform — and the good news is that the free trial also includes the Sport add-on.

As well as the Six Nations rugby, Stan also has Champions League 21/22 live streams and Europa League coverage plus tennis action from Wimbledon and Roland-Garros and lots more.

Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN to watch all the action on your Stan account, as if you were back home.

How to watch the France vs Ireland live stream in New Zealand

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New Zealanders can watch the France vs Ireland live stream on Sky Sport. This costs $57.98 NZD per month, or $31.99/month extra if you already have Sky but not Sport. Plus there's currently an offer which gives you your first month free when you sign up for a year.

Alternatively, you could go for the Sky Sport Now service, which gives you just the Sport channels but for a reduced cost of $19.99/week / $39.99/month or $399/year. 

Not at home in New Zealand right now? You can still follow the game by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN

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Marc McLaren

Formerly Editor in Chief (U.K.) on Tom’s Guide, Marc oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage, and was also responsible for the site’s U.K.-focused output. He is now U.K. Editor in Chief on TechRadar. Marc previously edited the tech website Stuff and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and much more. He also spent years on a music magazine, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun, and on a car magazine. An avid photographer, he likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). When he gets time, he also enjoys gaming (console and mobile), cycling and attempting to watch as much sport as any human can. He's also fallen in love with Wordle over the past six months and is the author of our today's Wordle answer column, in which he supplies hints and strategy tips for the mega-popular word game. Given he's completed every single Wordle so far and only lost once, and analyzed every Wordle answer in search of patterns, he's well qualified to help you safeguard your streak.