With the opening of the 2019 Rugby World Cup coming up less than two months from now in Japan, the annual Rugby Championship has been truncated this year. The competition for international rugby’s top four Southern Hemisphere teams has been shortened to just three matches per team, rather than six, with each side playing the other only once, rather than home-and-away as in previous years.
That means Saturday’s showdown between the New Zealand All Blacks — winners of six of the seven Rugby Championship tournaments — and the South Africa Springboks could effectively decide who will win the competition this time around. In fact, the ‘Boks are taking the match so seriously that they sent 13 of their players to New Zealand a week in advance, according to The Roar . This is in order for the team to get ready for the big test match that will live stream from Wellington.
To find out how to watch a live stream of the Rugby Championship Matchday 2 test match pitting South Africa against defending champions New Zealand, see the streaming information at the bottom of this article. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. New Zealand Standard Time on Saturday, July 27, at the 34,500-seat Wellington Regional Stadium — known for sponsorship reasons as Westpac Stadium — in Wellington, New Zealand.
In South Africa, that start time will be 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, South Africa Time. In Australia, the match gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Australia Standard Time on Saturday, and 3:30 p.m. Western. Fans in the United States can catch the All Blacks vs. Springboks rugby test at 3:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, 12:30 a.m. PT.
South Africa will field a heavily changed side from the team that cruised to a 35-17 win over the Australia Wallabies last Saturday, per Sky Sports . But the All Blacks, who suffered a scare against upstart Argentina, barely holding on for a 20-16 win, will also make changes.
Perhaps the most notable change will be the return of longtime captain Kieran Reid, as Sky Sports reported. But Coach Steve Hansen has also elected to play Richie Mo’unga at fly-half in only his third test while moving Beauden Barrett, the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year, to fullback.
To watch a free live stream of the New Zealand vs. South Africa Saturday 2019 Rugby Championship test, access the feed offered by ESPN+ , the online subscription service of sports media network ESPN. The ESPN+ streaming network subscription requires a fee of $4.99 per month but also includes a seven-day free trial period, giving fans an opportunity to watch the All Blacks-Springboks Rugby Championship showdown at no charge.
In New Zealand, Sky Go New Zealand will live stream the Rugby Championship clash, while in South Africa, the SuperSport network will broadcast and live stream the match.
In Argentina, ESPN Scrum TV has rights to all of the Rugby Championship games. Fans in Australia can watch a live stream via Kayo Sports . Kayo also requires a subscription fee but comes with a 14-day free trial. Foxtel will live stream the Argentina vs. New Zealand Rugby championship match in Australia as well.
The game will live stream on Sky Sports Action in the United Kingdom.
