Watch Japan v Italy: How to watch Saturday’s Nations Championship encounter for free

There’s little to choose between the Brave Blossoms and the Azzurri in the world rankings...

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Watch Japan v Italy as Tokyo hosts what could be one of the tightest games in this opening weekend of Nations Championship fixtures. The Azzurri ran out comfortable winners the last time they played the Brave Blossoms on their own turf, but it’s never wise to underestimate a team coached by Eddie Jones…

– Date: Saturday 4 July, 2026

– Kick-off time: 9.40am BST / 10.40am CET / 10.40am SAST / 6.40pm AEST / 8.40pm NZST / 4.40am EDT

– FREE STREAMS: ITVX /(UK), Virgin Media Play (Ireland), TF1+ (France)

– Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free

You can watch Japan v Italy live streams for free in the UK, Ireland and France. Read on to find out how to tune in the game, wherever you are in the world this weekend – including details of how you can use a VPN to watch your usual TV services if you’re away from home right now.

You’ll find team line-ups at the bottom of the page.

How to watch Japan v Italy for free

There are several free streams over the opening weekend of Nations Championship action, including:

  • United Kingdom: Japan v Italy is available on both terrestrial channel ITV4 and the ITVX streaming service. Both options are free to use but remember that you need a current TV Licence to watch/stream live television in the UK. ITV’s coverage starts at 9.30am BST, with kick-off at 9.40am.
  • Ireland: Rugby fans in Ireland can watch Japan v Italy for free on Virgin Media Play. The game gets underway at 9.40am IST.
  • France: Japan v Italy live streams are available for free on the TF1+ streaming service. Kick-off is at 10.40am CT.

Travelling overseas this weekend? Residents of the UK, Ireland and France can still watch their usual free streaming service with the help of a good VPN. Keep reading to find out more…

Read more: How to watch Nations Championship 2026 from anywhere

Stream Japan v Italy from anywhere

Overseas right now? That doesn’t mean you have to miss the rugby. By using a VPN you can avoid the geo-blocking restrictions that might otherwise prevent you from tuning in to Japan v Italy when you’re overseas. There are plenty of good VPNs you can buy, but the tech experts at TechRadar reckon NordVPN is currently world number one.

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More ways to watch Japan v Italy

  • Australia: Stan Sport is the place to go for Japan v Italy live streams down under. You’ll need a $20 per month Stan Sport plan (in addition to your base Stan subscription) to tune in. Kick-off is at 6.40pm AEST this evening.
  • New Zealand: In New Zealand, Japan v Italy is on Sky Sport, which costs $54.99 per month for a streaming subscription. Kick-off is 8.40pm NZST tonight.
  • South Africa: SuperSport will be your destination for Japan v Italy live streams in South Africa, and is available via DStv and streaming. The match gets underway at 10.40am SAST this morning.
  • United States: In the US you can watch Japan v Italy, along with all the Nations Championship games, on World Rugby’s RugbyPass TV. It’s free to use, though you do need to register before you can start streaming the action. The game kicks off at 4.40am EDT/1.40am PDT on Saturday morning.

Japan v Italy line-ups and officials

Japan

15. Takuro Matsunaga
14. Kazuma Ueda
13. Dylan Riley
12. Yuya Hirose
11. Kippei Ishida
10. Ryunosuke Ito
9. Naoto Saito

1. Takato Okabe
2. Mamoru Harada
3. Shuhei Takeuchi
4. Harry Hockings
5. Warner Dearns (captain)
6. Ben Gunter
7. Kanji Shimokawa
8. Jack Cornelsen

Replacements:
16. Hayate Era
17. Sojiro Otsuka
18. Keijiro Tamefusa
19. Michael Stolberg
20. Michael Leitch
21. Tiennan Costley
22. Itsuki Kamimura
23. Sam Greene

Italy

15. Lorenzo Pani
14. Malik Faissal
13. Juan Ignacio Brex
12. Tommaso Menoncello
11. Monty Ioane
10. Paolo Garbisi
9. Stephen Varney

1. Danilo Fischetti
2. Tommaso Di Bartolomeo
3. Marco Riccioni
4. Niccolo Cannone
5. Andrea Zambonin
6. Alessandro Ortombina
7. Michele Lamaro (captain)
8. Lorenzo Cannone

Replacements:
16. Gianmarco Lucchesi
17. Mirco Spagnolo
18. Muhamed Hasa
19. Riccardo Favretto
20. Ross Vintcent
21. Alessandro Fusco
22. Leonardo Marin
23. Tommaso Allan

Nic Berry of Australia has the whistle for this one, with Luc Ramos (France) and Sam Grove-White (Scotland) as his assistants. Ian Tempest (England) is the TMO.

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