Six Nations 2021: How to watch, listen and follow the rugby action

(Pocket-lint) – The Six Nations will see England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales contest the Championship Trophy during February and March.

The Home Nations will contest the Triple Crown trophy as well, plus there are also various trophies such as the Calcutta Cup for key individual contests. 

Fans who miss the live coverage of the Six Nations games, or just want to re-live the excitement, will be able to watch them in the UK on BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub after the event. 

When is the Six Nations? 

The 2020 Guinness Six Nations begins on Saturday 6 February and takes place over five weekends, finishing with Super Saturday on 20 March when all three games fall on the same day.

Watching the Six Nations on TV

In the UK, the BBC and ITV share Six Nations coverage. This can be a little confusing at times, but we’ve put the schedule below.

The games are divided between ITV and BBC, in no particular pattern. While the broadcasts will be available in HD on BBC One HD and ITV HD, there are no 4K or HDR broadcasts. 

In Ireland, coverage is available on Virgin Media including Virgin Media One HD. All the Wales games will also be available in Wales with Welsh commentary on S4C. 

If you need to employ a VPN to pretend you’re in the UK and watch the games, check out our guide to the best VPN for streaming, or you can find a full list of the international broadcasters here.  

Six Nations games on ITV and the BBC

6 February

Italy v France, ITV, KO 14.15
England v Scotland, ITV, KO 16.45

7 February

Wales v Ireland, BBC, KO 15.00

13 February

England v Italy, ITV, KO 14.15
Scotland v Wales, BBC, KO 16.45

14 February

Itrland v France, ITV, KO 15.00

27 February

Italy v Ireland, ITV, KO 14.15
Wales v England, BBC, KO 16.45

28 February

France v Scotland, BBC, KO 15.00

13 March

Italy v Wales, ITV, KO 14.15
England v France, ITV, KO 16.45

14 March

Scotland v Ireland, BBC, KO 15.00

20 March

Scotland v Italy, BBC, KO 14.15
Ireland v England, ITV, KO 16.45
France v Wales, BBC, KO 20.00

Listening to the Six Nations on the radio

The BBC has the radio rights to the Six Nations. Every home nation’s men’s game will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 Live or 5 Live Sports Extra. Live commentary of every England Women’s game will be broadcast on 5 Live Sports Extra or online, with highlights on the BBC Sport website.

There will also be commentary on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. 

The Women’s Six Nations

The Women’s Six Nations Championships have been postponed and will be played in April. The tournament will start on the weekend of 3/4 April and finish on 24 April.

Watching highlights and following online

There’ll be highlights on the BBC Sport website and, as we mentioned, on BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. Each broadcaster will have highlights of every match, as well as in-play video clips of the games they broadcast. 

ITV says that on its Rugby’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels you’ll be able to see highlights and an exclusive video after each round called The Breakdown.

You can also follow @SixNationsRugby on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – the hashtags to use are #SixNations and #GuinnessSixNations.

Writing by Dan Grabham. Editing by Chris Hall.