Wales vs Australia at the Rugby World Cup is always going to involve a titanic tussle between two of the best sides on the planet, but with so much riding on Sunday's encounter, things are going to be next level. The Wallabies must win if Eddie Jones' side is to avoid a first group stage exit in World Cup history, while Warren Gatland and Co. is looking for a third straight victory that would all but guarantee it would top the group. Tasty doesn't even begin to cover it.
It's been another fine day in Lyon and temperatures for this game will be around 16C by kick-off, even with the sun having gone in, and conditions are perfect for free-flowing rugby. Settle down in front of the screen of your choice and make sure you don't miss a second of the action.
The teams were announced a couple of days ago and are listed below...
WALES Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis; Will Rowlands, Adam Beard; Aaron Wainwright, Jac Morgan (captain), Taulupe Faletau
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Corey Domachowski, Henry Thomas, Dafydd Jenkins, Taine Basham, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Rio Dyer
AUSTRALIA Andrew Kellaway; Mark Nawaqanitawase, Jordan Petaia, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete; Ben Donaldson, Tate McDermott; Angus Bell, David Porecki (captain), James Slipper, Nick Frost, Richard Arnold, Robert Leota, Tom Hooper, Rob Valetini
Replacements: Matt Faessler, Blake Schoupp, Pone Fa’amausili, Matt Philip, Fraser McReight, Nic White, Carter Gordon, Suli Vunivalu
Wales vs Australia in the Rugby World Cup is airing for FREE in the UK, on the ITVX streaming service, and in Australia via 9Now. But don't worry if you're abroad while the games are playing, because you can watch the Rugby World Cup 2023 live streams on ITVX from anywhere with a VPN.
► Date: Sunday, September 24
► Time: 3 pm ET / 12 pm PT / 8 pm UK / 5 am AEST (Sep. 25)
US: Peacock
UK: ITV1 | ITVX (both free with license fee)
AU: Stan Sport| 9Now (free)
Stream anywhere: ExpressVPN
Wales' form may have been best described as patchy coming into the Rugby World Cup 2023, but head coach Gatland's side has managed to record two (admittedly nervy) bonus-point wins out of two thus far. The 32-26 defeat of Fiji was especially worrying, before running out 28-8 winners over Portugal after surprisingly conceding a try to the minnows. The Red Dragons do, however, still have the fastest player in World Cup history in its ranks – Louis Rees-Zammit has recently clocked a staggering 24.2 mph and his team-mates will look to feed the winger after he scored last time out. Victory guarantees a place in the knockout stages and avoids a "rabbit hole" of permutations should Wales lose, according to assistant coach Jonathan Thomas.
For Australia, meanwhile, the situation is simple: win. Nothing else matters for the Wallabies, whose 22-15 defeat to Fiji was a real Rugby World Cup nadir for the two-time former champions, a situation that would get worse with another loss that would dump the Aussies out of the group stage for the first time. Eddie Jones has been sending his fellow coaches messages at 4:30 am this week in an effort to get everyone on the same page, with the head honcho's decision not to bring experienced duo Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper to France already looking misplaced. He'll hope scrum half Tate McDermott can return from concussion but prop Taniela Tupou and captain Will Skelton are out, with talented teen Max Jorgensen also out.
Whether you're planning to catch a Wales vs Australia live stream or watch the entire Rugby World Cup on your TV or your laptop, keep reading for your entire list of options. We've also included lots of useful information below so you know when the matches take place, who will play, and where this evening's drama will go down.
How to watch Wales vs Australia in the UK for free
In the UK, ITV is the exclusive broadcaster for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, so you'll be able to watch Wales vs Australia – and all the games – on one of the various ITV-branded channels. You'll be able to watch this game on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 7:15 pm ahead of the 8 pm kick-off.
If you don't have a TV, then you'll be able to use ITVX on your computer, phone, tablet or smart TV, as that lets you live stream from ITV channels.
ITV1 and ITVX are free to watch for license fee payers. If you're trying to access the streaming platform while outside the UK, you might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch from abroad.
How to watch Wales vs Australia in the US
Thanks to a partnership between World Rugby and NBC Sports, the broadcasting company will be the exclusive home for the Rugby World Cup games – including Wales vs Australia, which will be streamed live on Peacock. The match kicks off at 3 pm ET / 12 pm PT.
You can sign in to Peacock, which starts at $5.99 per month for ad-enabled streaming or $11.99 for ad-free, and it's showing all of the Rugby World Cup games too.
Remember, if you're away from the US at the minute, you'll need a VPN to ensure you can still watch the Wales vs Australia live stream without being geo-blocked. Keep reading on to find out how to get yourself set up.
How to watch Wales vs Australia in Australia
In Australia, you've got two options for watching the Rugby World Cup. Firstly, online streaming service Stan Sport will be showing every single game – including Wales vs Australia. The match kicks off bright and early on Monday, September 25 at 5 am AEST.
Beyond this fixture, free-to-air Channel Nine will be showing all of the Australian team's games including this one against Wales (and the final, whether or not the Wallabies make it), and will also be streaming it on 9Now.
Not in Australia right now? Make sure you get yourself a VPN to ensure you don't miss a second of the Australia vs Fiji live stream from the Rugby World Cup 2023.
How to watch Wales vs Australia everywhere else
Wherever you live, there's a good possibility that a national broadcaster is streaming the Rugby World Cup matches, particularly if your country has a team playing in the tournament.
However, there's a possibility that there's no easy way of watching Six Nation games. Thankfully, you can solve this issue with a Virtual Private Network (a VPN).
A VPN lets you get around the usual digital barriers by changing your IP address, meaning you can watch events like the Rugby World Cup 2023 tournament even if it is not directly broadcasting where you are. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at ExpressVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch.
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
Rugby World Cup 2023 fixtures
Group stage
Saturday, September 23
Group B: South Africa vs Ireland
Group C: Georgia vs Portugal
Group D: England vs Chile
Sunday, September 24
Group B: Scotland vs Tonga
Group C: Wales vs Australia
Wednesday, September 27
Group A: Uruguay vs Namibia
Thursday, September 28
Group D: Japan vs Samoa
Friday, September 29
Group A: New Zealand vs Italy
Saturday, September 30
Group B: Scotland vs Romania
Group C: Fiji vs Georgia
Group D: Argentina vs Chile
Sunday, October 1
Group B: South Africa vs Tonga
Group C: Australia vs Portugal
Thursday, October 5
Group A: New Zealand vs Uruguay
Friday, October 6
Group A: France vs Italy
Saturday, October 7
Group B: Ireland vs Scotland
Group C: Wales vs Georgia
Group D: England vs Samoa
Sunday, October 8
Group B: Tonga vs Romania
Group C: Fiji vs Portugal
Group D: Japan vs Argentina
Knockout stage
Saturday, October 14
QF1: Group C winner vs Group D runner-up
QF2: Group B winner vs Group A runner-up
Sunday, October 15
QF3: Group D winner vs Group C runner-up
QF4: Group A winner vs Group B runner-up
Friday, October 20
SF1: QF1 winner vs QF2 winner
Saturday, October 21
SF2: QF3 winner vs QF4 winner
Friday, October 27
Bronze Final: SF1 loser vs SF2 loser
Saturday, October 28
Final: SF1 winner vs SF2 winner
Rugby World Cup 2023 questions
Where does the Rugby World Cup take place?
The Rugby World Cup 2023 is being hosted by France, with nine different locations around the country hosting rugby games:
- Stade de Framce in Saint-Denis, capacity 80,698
- Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, capacity 67,394
- Stade Lyon-Décines in Décines-Charpieu, capacity 59,186
- Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, capacity 50,186
- Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, capacity 42,115
- Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, capacity 41,965
- Stade de Nice in Nice, 35,624
- Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, capacity 35,322
- Stadium Municipa in Toulouse, capacity 33,150
Which teams are in the Rugby World Cup?
There are 20 teams partaking in the Rugby World Cup, with each split into four groups of five in the first stage of the tournament.
Chile makes its debut to the tournament this year, knocking out the United States and Canada in its successful qualification tournament.
Group A
New Zealand
France
Italy
Uruguay
Namibia
Group B
South Africa
Ireland
Scotland
Tonga
Romania
Group C
Wales
Australia
Fiji
Georgia
Portugal
Group D
England
Japan
Argentina
Samoa
Chile
