The Nations Championship kicks off this weekend, with a mouthwatering fixture set to be its curtain-raiser. New Zealand and France meet in the first match of the new global competition, which brings together teams from the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship, along with Fiji and Japan. The fixtures are split between two blocks – in summer and autumn – ending in a finals weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, at the end of the year. The first match couldn’t get much tastier, with Les Bleus
travelling to Christchurch to take on the All Blacks. Here is everything you need to know about the clash. New Zealand v France kicks off at 8.10am BST on Saturday, July 4, at One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch. The game is being shown live and for free on ITV1. Coverage starts at 7.30am . You can stream the match via ITV’s app, ITVX. You will need a valid TV licence and an account to watch. New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn
Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Peter Lakai, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Billy Proctor, 23 Fehi Fineanganofo France: 15 Max Spring, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Fabien Brau-Boirie, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Théo Attissogbé, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime
Lucu (c), 8 Marko Gazzotti, 7 Oscar Jégou, 6 Pierre Bochaton, 5 Tom Staniforth, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Demba Bamba, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot Replacements: 16 Barnabé Massa, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Mickaël Guillard, 20 Killian Tixeront, 21 Nolan Le Garrec, 22 Antoine Hastoy, 23 Nicolas Depoortere Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU) Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (RFU) and Katsuki Furuse (JRFU) TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU) FPRO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU) Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up
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New Zealand vs France, Nations Championship, ITV1 free, ITVX, kick-off time 8.10am BST, One New Zealand Stadium Christchurch, All Blacks Les Bleus
8.10am?? I’m gonna be stuck at work like always lol.
Free on ITV1 and ITVX but you need a TV licence?? So basically not free for most people. Also why is New Zealand playing France like it’s a real league thing now?
Wait is this at Twickenham or Christchurch? The article says both vibes, like finals at Allianz but the match is in Christchurch, so I’m confused. Either way I don’t trust France after last time they choked.
Ruben Love at 10?? I thought they were gonna start someone else. Also “valid TV licence” is wild in 2026, like just let people watch. Luke Pearce ref and the TMO too like that means it’ll be called back for something, bet.