The Rugby Championship is an annual international rugby union competition featuring the national teams of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The 2025 Rugby Championship runs from mid-August to early October 2025.
While the BBC has rights to other rugby tournaments, like the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 and the Six Nations, the 2025 Rugby Championship will be live on BBC iPlayer.
However, if you are outside the UK and want to access BBC iPlayer, you have to use PureVPN to access the event. It can mask your IP address and connect you to a server in the UK, allowing you to watch the 2025 Rugby Championship live on BBC iPlayer.
2025 Rugby Championship Key Details
- Dates: August 16 – October 4, 2025
- Teams: Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
- Broadcasters: BBC Iplayer, Sky Sports
Why Do You Need VPN to Watch the Rugby Championship in 2025
You need a VPN to watch the 2025 Rugby Championship live stream to get around regional limitations. Broadcasters purchase exclusive rights to show the tournament in specific countries, like BBC iPlayer in the UK. If you are outside the UK, your access will be limited due to your local IP address.
PureVPN bypasses these regional limitations by hiding your real IP address and assigning you a UK one. To access BBC iPlayer, you need to connect to the UK server. This allows you to watch the 2025 Rugby Championship as if you were physically there, ensuring you don’t miss a minute of the action, no matter where you are in the world.
How to Watch the 2025 Rugby Championship on BBC iPlayer
The 2025 Rugby Championship is available on BBC iPlayer, an official broadcaster. However, if you are an international fan with a subscription to the service like BBC iPlayer, you will encounter regional limitations. This is where PureVPN becomes essential.
Here is how to access the 2025 Rugby Championship live stream:
- Subscribe to PureVPN and create an account.
- Go to the official BBC iPlayer website and choose a subscription plan.
- Sign up using your email address and a US payment method.
- Once your subscription is active, install the BBC app on your smart TV, mobile device, or stream directly through your browser.
- Use the search bar to look for “Rugby Championship 2025”.
- Click to start streaming all the live matches, commentary, and coverage of the tournament.
Since BBC iPlayer is regionally limited to the UK, people outside the UK will need PureVPN. Simply connect to a UK server using PureVPN to unlock access and stream the Rugby Championship 2025 seamlessly, just as if you were watching from the UK.
Watch the 2025 Rugby Championship Online
If you are traveling or living in the US, PureVPN helps you access your home streaming service. Here’s a look at some of the official broadcasters for the 2025 Rugby Championship.
Watch 2025 Rugby Championship on Stan Sport
Stan Sport allows Australian fans to watch every game of the 2025 Rugby Championship live and on demand. You will need to subscribe to a basic Stan plan, which starts at $12 a month, and then upgrade to the Stan Sport package for an additional $20. The total cost is at least $32 per month.
If you are an Australian living abroad, use PureVPN to connect to an Australian server so you can access your Stan Sport account and watch the 2025 Rugby Championship live.
Watch 2025 Rugby Championship on Sky Sport
Sky Sport is the exclusive provider of match streaming in New Zealand. A membership costs $54.99 a month, or you can get an annual pass for $549.99, which reduces the monthly cost.
To get around regional limitations and watch the 2025 Rugby Championship, PureVPN can link you to a server in New Zealand for easy access.
Watch 2025 Rugby Championship on 9Now
9Now is the official free-to-air streaming platform for the 2025 Rugby Championship in Australia. You can sign up for free with an email address, but you’ll need to be in Australia to stream the matches live and on demand.
If you’re outside Australia, regional restrictions will block access. With PureVPN, you can connect to an Australian server, sign in to 9Now, and enjoy the full 2025 Rugby Championship coverage without interruptions.
Rugby Championship 2025 Preview
The 2025 Rugby Championship continues with its distinctive “mini-tour” format, featuring the national teams of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
This edition runs from mid-August to early October across various locations, including a notable match between Argentina and South Africa at London’s Twickenham Stadium. This will be only the second time a Rugby Championship game is hosted outside the core Southern Hemisphere countries, emphasizing the tournament’s growing international appeal.
In 2025, each team plays six matches: three home and three away organized as two-match tours plus single home-and-away games against the remaining opponent. This format optimizes travel and competition balance while maintaining intense rivalries. South Africa, the defending champions and reigning World Cup winners, face strong challenges especially away from home, particularly in New Zealand.
The 2025 tournament is also significant as the last before the Rugby Championship shifts to a biennial schedule coinciding with the launch of the broader Nations Championship, signaling an evolving future for global southern hemisphere rugby competitions.
Rugby Championship 2025 Teams
- Argentina
- Australia
- New Zealand
- South Africa
Rugby Championship 2025 Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| August 16 | South Africa vs Australia | Johannesburg |
| Argentina vs New Zealand | Cordoba | |
| August 23 | South Africa vs Australia | Cape Town |
| Argentina vs New Zealand | Buenos Aires | |
| September 6 | Australia vs Argentina | Townsville |
| New Zealand vs South Africa | Auckland | |
| September 13 | Australia vs Argentina | Sydney |
| New Zealand vs South Africa | Wellington | |
| September 27 | New Zealand vs Australia | Auckland |
| South Africa vs Argentina | Durban | |
| October 4 | Australia vs New Zealand | Perth |
| Argentina vs South Africa | Twickenham |
The Rugby Championship Format
The opening tournament of 1996 was contested by New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, with each nation playing each other home and away. New Zealand dominated the inaugural year and won every game they played. Although New Zealand won many of the early tournaments, most editions of the Tri Nations were hugely competitive and each nation had won the tournament at least once by 2000.
The success of the Tri Nations saw the tournament expand in 2006, when it was decided that each nation would play the others three times instead of twice. Then, in 2009, it was announced that Argentina would enter the competition in 2012. Until that point, Argentina had been the only tier one nation in the world that didn’t face regular international competition. When Argentina entered The Rugby Championship, the tournament reverted to a double round robin.
Counting down the days until we take to the field 🤩
— TheRugbyChampionship (@SanzarTRC) August 8, 2025
Who will lift the trophy in 2025?#TheRugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/L4d9sRIsls
- Rugby Championship in Brazil
- Rugby Championship in New Zealand
- Rugby Championship in South Africa
- Rugby Championship in Argentina
- Rugby Championship in Italy
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, BBC iPlayer will stream select matches of the Rugby Championship 2025 live for UK viewers.
You can watch the Rugby Championship 2025 on BBC iPlayer using smart TVs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles that support the BBC iPlayer app or website.
Yes, BBC iPlayer will make Rugby Championship 2025 match replays available on demand after the live broadcasts.
BBC iPlayer may not stream every single match of the Rugby Championship 2025 live, but selected games and highlights will be available.
The first Rugby Championship 2025 match on BBC iPlayer will be South Africa vs Australia on 16 August 2025 in UK local time.
