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How to Watch the Six Nations Livestream From Anywhere

Rugby is a fascinating sport and Europe is home to some of the best rugby teams in the world. However, the Six Nations Live Stream is not available everywhere. You may need a VPN with UK servers like NordVPN* to watch Six Nations online on geo-restricted channels such as BBC iPlayer and ITV. If this interests you and you don’t want to miss out on any exciting rugby action, then keep reading to find out how to watch the Six Nations live stream for free from anywhere! 

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How To Bypass geo-blocks to stream the Six Nations for free

It's really not complicated and only a few steps to unblock the Six Nations tournament and stream it from anywhere! 

  1. Get a VPN with UK servers

Watching Six Nations online is possible if you get access to the BBC and ITV live streams. The two UK broadcasters share the games, but both also use geo-blocking. You’ll need a reliable VPN with UK servers such as NordVPN* or Surfshark. 

  1. Install client or app

After choosing a suitable VPN, install the provider’s client or app. At this point, it is important that you use a VPN provider that supports your device. The VPNs mentioned here offer apps for all popular operating systems – Android, Windows, iOS, macOS, and even Linux. They also offer browser extensions and work with Amazon Fire Stick. In addition, use on routers is permitted, with which you can also watch the Six Nation Live Stream on Playstation and Xbox.

  1. Connect to a UK server

In the third step, you connect to a server in the UK. This is very important because otherwise, the next step is not possible.

  1. Register with BBC and ITV

You can only watch BBC iPlayer or ITV if you register. Registration is free, but you must enter a valid UK postcode – any code.

  1. Start streaming!

Once you have completed the steps, you can log in and watch Six Nations online for free. You really don't have to do anything else and it works great. Have fun!

Important note: If you register with ITV or BBC iPlayer in this way, you are breaking the broadcaster's terms of use. You need a UK TV license to watch the live stream from BBC iPlayer or ITV. This also applies to content from the BBC media library. This is not really checked, but I wanted to point out that you are in tricky territory here - there is an official fine for it. The VPN makes you anonymous and if you use a disposable email address, nobody will catch you either. Nevertheless, this method is theoretically not allowed - I just wanted to point that out.

Why do I enjoy watching Six Nations online so much?

I love rugby, but unfortunately, Germany doesn't have a very good team. The best rugby teams in Europe are England, Ireland, France, Wales, Scotland and Italy. It feels like Italy is getting a little better every year, but is the weakest team of the six teams. Scotland is also seen as more of an underdog, but you always have to reckon with the four other teams. However, the Scots have often been the ones tipping the scales, turning the tournament upside down with a surprising victory.

In the Six Nations competition, everyone competes against everyone else and in the end, there is a winner. Rugby is a tough game but surprisingly fair. There is one thing I really like about football, unlike football: there are no arguments with the referee. Players are allowed to ask if they can say something, otherwise only the referee speaks. If a player repeatedly complains, he is sometimes thrown off the field. These discussion groups like in football simply don't exist.

If someone is on the ground in rugby, you can assume that the player is really hurt. Those Hollywood-style falls don't exist in rugby.

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That's why you need a VPN to watch Six Nations for free

Only a few channels broadcast the competition live and you can only watch it for free in a few countries. However, all sporting events are geo-blocked. It really doesn't matter what sport it is and what country it's in. This is due to licensing regulations and broadcasters are only allowed to broadcast content in certain regions. This also applies to live streaming.

There are also limits on the Internet and they are determined by IP addresses. Databases store which IP address belongs to which country. If you visit the BBC iPlayer or ITV website from Germany, the website will see your IP address. The provider looks it up in the database, sees that you are from Germany and blocks the streaming. You will then get a message that the show is not available in your region or something like that.

If you use a VPN and connect to a UK server, all of your traffic will go through the UK server. For the website, it appears as if the server's IP address is accessing it - so you're changing your IP address with the VPN.

Let's assume that you have connected to a server in London. The streaming providers BBC iPlayer or ITV now think that you are visiting the websites from England. You release the broadcasts and the geoblocking is bypassed. Now you can watch Six Nations online - or other sporting events, movies, TV series and so on.

To summarise - Streaming providers, apps, services or websites need to see that you are in a country where the provider has the broadcasting rights for the media you want. If this is not the case, the streaming will not work.

The best VPN for streaming Six Nations from anywhere

You definitely want a VPN that operates enough servers in the UK and offers high speeds. For HD streaming you need at least 5 MBit/s and for Ultra HD / $k 25 MBit/s. The VPNs presented here can easily deliver these speeds and also provide sufficient servers in the UK

NordVPN is the best all-around VPN in our opinion. You can connect up to 6 devices at the same time. The provider supports all popular operating systems: Android, Windows, macOS, iOS and Linux. Use on a router is permitted so that you can also watch Six Nations online with your games console (Xbox, Playstation) and on your smart TV. There are also browser extensions that are very user-friendly just like the other apps. NordVPN is known for being excellent at bypassing geo-restrictions, and BBC iPlayer and ITV are no match for that.

A cheap alternative is Surfshark. This provider allows unlimited simultaneous device connections - of course, use as a router is allowed. Surfshark offers user-friendly apps and clients for Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and Linux. This VPN also works on various smart TV’s (such as Amazon Fire TV) and has browser extensions available. 

By the way, all the VPNs we have mentioned offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. This means that all features are available to you and if you don't like the service, you contact support and ask for a refund.

FAQs

There are questions that are asked again and again about watching Six Nations Live Stream. In this section, I try to answer the most frequently asked questions. 

How can I watch Six Nations online?

You can definitely watch via ITV and BBC iPlayer. The two channels share the games and you have to check who is broadcasting which matches. The two channels are free, but really only in the UK. You also have to register with both streaming providers, but it's free and you can use any valid email address. You also need a valid postcode in the UK – so any.

Can I use a free VPN for the Six Nations Live Stream?

Possibly, probably not, and most likely it's pretty annoying. First of all, you need a free VPN that offers servers in the UK. There are some, but they only offer a few GB of data volume per day or per month. The data volume may not even be enough for a game.

With ProtonVPN there is even a free VPN that has no data limits. However, the free version only has servers in the USA, the Netherlands and Japan and they are often overloaded.

Free VPNs can even be dangerous. Some providers collect data and sell it to fund their infrastructure.

In any case, you're better off using a premium prov

Is it legal to bypass geo-restrictions and then watch Six Nations?

To watch live streaming, recordings, films and series on BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub you need a UK TV license. You can only get it if you live in the UK. However, you can enter any zip code when registering, in which case you are violating the broadcasters' terms of service and the law.

Your information will not be checked. A VPN and a special disposable email address make you anonymous when registering, but this is actually not allowed. There's an official fine for watching BBC iPlayer and ITV if you're not in the UK. You have to know what you're doing yourself - I've definitely pointed this out to you.

The legality of VPNs depends on the country. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, the use of a VPN is definitely legal. This also applies to the United Kingdom. But just because a VPN makes you anonymous doesn't mean you can't engage in illegal activities with it. There are also countries where VPNs are blocked or even illegal – China, Russia, Iran, Egypt and Turkey are examples here.

Why do I need a VPN for Six Nations Live Stream?

You need a UK IP address to stream BBC iPlayer and ITV. The two broadcasters share the tournament and take turns broadcasting the games. Without a VPN, you will have problems with geo-blocking because the games are only (allowed) to be broadcast by the two channels in the United Kingdom.

Why isn't BBC iPlayer working?

Most likely you have a problem with geoblocking. Either your IP address is not from the UK or your server has been exposed. Just connect to a (different) server in UK and that should solve your problem.

Why isn't ITV working for me?

Check if you are connected to a UK server. If not, connect with one. If so, then your server has been exposed as a VPN IP address. Just connect to another server.

What can I do if Six Nations Live Stream is not working?

Unfortunately, it cannot be generalized like that. There can be many reasons why watching Six Nations online is not working. Here are a few tips:

Streaming providers' mobile apps may work better on a tablet or phone than on a browser.

Sometimes VPN servers get banned. In this case, you simply connect to another server.

Some streaming providers have problems with certain browsers. You can quickly switch and test between Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Vivaldi, Brave and so on. Because of the cookies, using incognito mode or a private window is worth a try.

It has happened to me that a streaming provider could only be unblocked with the browser extensions of the VPN.

The VPN protocol can make a difference. If WireGuard doesn't work, switch to OpenVPN or even use your VPN's stealth mode.

If the above tips don't help, you can always contact support. Don't be afraid to do this - after all, you're paying for the service.

By: Michael Miller
Michael is the CEO of VPN Online, one of the fastest-growing media companies in the cyber-security space. VPN Online was started in 2019 after Michael consulted with many Fortune 500 companies and saw the lack of understanding about cybersecurity many of their employees had.