New Zealand vs South Africa live stream: how to watch Rugby World Cup final online now, team news

Watch a free New Zealand vs South Africa live stream

Want to watch a free New Zealand vs South Africa live stream? Luckily, there are a few locations around the world showing the 2023 Rugby World Cup final for free. In Ireland, it's free to watch on RTÉ Player and Virgin Media Player. The destination is ITVX in the UK and 9Now in Australia. You can use a VPN to unblock your country's streaming service when traveling abroad. Keep reading for full details on how to watch New Zealand vs South Africa live streams wherever you are in the world.

New Zealand vs South Africa preview

After seven weeks and 47 games of brutal, exhilarating, spell-binding World Cup rugby, it's finally time for the final. It's going to be New Zealand vs South Africa and your guess is as good as ours when it comes to predicting who will be lifting the Webb Ellis Cup tonight. What we do know is that it's a wet and windy evening at the Stade de France in Paris, so expect a war of attrition in the front eight and with high balls sent down the full backs' throats.

When New Zealand lost the opening game of the tournament against hosts France, armchair pundits were falling over themselves to write off the All Blacks. They spent the remainder of the group stage scoring tries for fun (36 in three games!), before chalking up a memorable victory against Ireland in the quarters. Their Argentina semi-final may have been a walk in the park in comparison, but it gave winger Will Jordan the chance to extend his try tally to eight and the likes of Sam Cane, Ardie Savea, Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett to save a scrap of energy ahead of today's final.

South Africa's tantalisingly bruising semi-final against England was the polar opposite, with Handré Pollard converting a 78th minute penalty to help the Springboks to a one-point victory. After that, an identical winning margin against France in the last eight and an exhausting pool stage loss against Ireland, it's hard to know how much petrol South Africa will have in the tank. But they're not the reigning champions for nothing – this squad just seems to know when to bring their A-game, and it would be foolish to bet against them ahead tonight.

The winning side will be the first nation in history to have won four Rugby World Cups. You have to go back to 1995 for the last time the All Blacks and Springboks met in the final, with the victorious home side memorably being presented the Webb Ellis Cup by Nelson Mandela. But New Zealand have the more recent taste of triumph, having won 35-20 on their way to retaining the Rugby Championship back in July.

You won't want to miss the 2023 final, so here's how to get a FREE New Zealand vs South Africa live stream and watch the Rugby World Cup wherever you are.

New Zealand vs South Africa teams:

New Zealand: Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Tele’a, Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith, Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Tyrel Lomax, Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett, Shannon Frizell, Sam Cane (captain), Ardie Savea

South Africa: Damian Willemse, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Handré Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Steven Kitshoff, Mbongeni Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Duane Vermeulen

How to watch New Zealand vs South Africa FREE: live stream in Ireland

Every game of the RWC 2023 has been shown live for FREE on TV and online in Ireland, and that of course includes the New Zealand vs South Africa final.

You can watch on your choice of RTÉ2 and online for FREE on the RTÉ Player or Virgin Media One and online for FREE on Virgin Media Player.

Both online live stream players are available to watch on web browsers, dedicated smartphone apps and selected streaming devices.

If you're outside Ireland but want your usual coverage, you can check out the ExpressVPN trial and follow the instructions below.

How to watch New Zealand vs South Africa from outside your country

Keep scrolling down this page for more information on the TV channels and streaming services you'll need to watch the Rugby World Cup in countries such as the UK, Australia, the US and finalists New Zealand and South Africa.

However, if you happen to travel abroad over the couple of months the tournament is being played, you'll soon discover that you'll be blocked from watching your usual stream.

Thankfully, that's a problem that's easily solved if you install a VPN, a piece of user-friendly software that lets you effectively trick your laptop, phone or other streaming device into thinking it's back in your home country.

Use a VPN to watch an New Zealand vs South Africa live stream from anywhere:

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How to use a VPN to watch New Zealand vs South Africa

Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...

1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN.

2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location, eg: 'Ireland' for RTÉ Player or Virgin Media Player.

3. Go to the broadcaster's stream - head to your home broadcaster's site or app and watch as if you were at home.

How to watch New Zealand vs South Africa: live stream FREE in the UK

The 2023 Rugby World Cup final is being shown on ITV in the UK – both on traditional TV and online. This game starts at 8pm BST on ITV1.

That means you can watch New Zealand vs South Africa live and absolutely free on ITVX (with a valid TV licence).

ITVX is available on pretty much any device you can imagine, including smartphones, tablets, Smart TVs and all the big streaming devices.

Outside the UK but still want to stream for free Downloading a VPN such as ExpressVPN will let you do exactly that as explained above.

How to watch All Blacks vs South Africa: live stream in New Zealand

Formerly known as Prime, the freeview channel Sky Open is showing the 2023 Rugby World Cup final for free. This huge All Blacks game starts at 8am on Sunday morning.

There are several ways you can watch Sky Open on TVs, online and on smart devices. For starters, it's right there on channel 15 of your Freeview reception. Or you can download the Sky Go app, register for free and watch it there.

How to watch Springboks vs New Zealand in South Africa

Although SuperSport has had the rights to show all Rugby World Cup games – both on TV and via its online streaming service and app – free-to-air channel SABC also has the coverage of all Springboks games, so you can watch there or on sabcsport.com.

Tune in to either at 9pm SAST on Saturday to watch the Springboks go for back-to-back World Cup final wins.

How to live stream New Zealand vs South Africa in Australia

The RWC 2023 final is being shown for FREE on 9Gem. So you can watch a New Zealand vs South Africa live stream free on the 9Now streaming service. Kick off is at 6am AEDT early on Sunday morning.

Currently away from Australia? Use a VPN to watch New Zealand vs South Africa on 9Now from abroad.

Alternatively, if you have a Stan Sport subscription and prefer to watch there, you can do so.

How to watch New Zealand vs South Africa in the US without cable

To watch this game in the US, your best value option is to stream via NBC's Peacock service.

The Peacock price is one of the cheapest among all streaming services, starting at a super low $5.99 a month (or $11.99 if you want to ditch all ads). Outside of the rugby, it also carries loads of other great sports like EPL soccer, PGA Tour golf, college sports and WWE, as well as plenty of other original programming.

The New Zealand vs South Africa final will also be on CNBC. That means you'll also be able to watch this game there if you have it as part of your cable package, or on a streaming service such as Sling TV or FuboTV.

If you subscribe to Peacock or any of the other streaming service and find yourself unable to access coverage because you're out of the country, consider using a VPN as outlined below - we rate ExpressVPN as the best of the best.

The live action starts at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

New Zealand vs South Africa RWC 2023 squads

New Zealand: Ethan de Groot, Tyrel Lomax, Nepo Laulala, Fletcher Newell, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Tamaiti Williams, Dane Coles, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Codie Taylor, Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Tupou Vaa’I, Samuel Whitelock, Sam Cane (captain), Shannon Frizell, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papli’I, Ardie Savea, Finlay Christie, Cam Roigard, Aaron Smith, Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo’unga, Jordie Barrett, David Havili, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Caleb Clarke, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Will Jordan, Ethan Blackadder, Mark Telea

South Africa: Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Frans Malherbe, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, Bongi Mbonambi, Handré Pollard, Eben Etzebeth, Jean Kleyn, Marvin Orie, Franco Mostert, Dean Fourie, RG Snyman, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden, Duane Vermeulen, Jasper Wiese, Faf de Klerk, Jaden Hendrikse, Cobus Reinach, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Lukhanyo Am, Canan Moodie