Australia's top-tier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League, has kicked off its 2020 campaign and it's easy to follow every game across all 25 weeks of the regular season, the finals series and ultimately the NRL Grand Final - read our guide and we'll explain how to live stream the NRL and watch every match wherever you are in the world.
Even for die-hard fans in Australia, knowing how to watch the NRL online is increasingly important, as so many stadiums will be closed to fans due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Games are currently scheduled to proceed as normal, though, as this year's reigning champions - or 'premiers' - the Sydney Roosters look to keep hold of their crown. In 2019, they made history by becoming the first team to win back-to-back NRL titles since the inception of the unified league, and it represented an 18th premiership rugby league trophy for the club overall. Can they pull of a three-peat this season?
One of the teams likely to stand in their way are local rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs. This Roosters vs the Rabbitohs is the fiercest rivalry in all of Aussie rugby league football, dating back to the foundation of both clubs in 1908 as part of the now defunct New South Wales Rugby Leage, or NSWRL. Over the years, the Bunnies have won a total of 21 premierships, putting them ahead of the Roosters. But in NRL, it's the Tri-Colors who lead the way with four titles compared to the Rabbitohs' single championship.
In 2019, the Rabbitohs had the upper hand over the Roosters in the regular season, but the Easts delivered when in counted in the qualifying final and beat their rivals by a dominant score of 30-6. This year, the two teams first lock horns on March 27, before squaring off again in August.
Read on to find out to watch an NRL live stream and follow all the Australian rugby league action this year from anywhere in the world - starting with the most obvious.
How to watch the NRL: live stream this week's rugby league matches in Australia for free
Free-to-air TV coverage of the NRL is limited to just three games a week in Australia and it can vary state-by-state as to what's being shown on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights on Channel 9. However, those that are aired will be able to be live streamed using the network's companion 9Now service.
That's limited, though, which is why we rate over-the-top service Kayo Sports as the best way to live stream the NRL from Down Under. It lets you watch every single NRL match across all 25 weeks of the regular season - and of course all the final series and Grand Final action. It's also cheap, offering the choice of a $25 per month basic package or $35 a month premium offering. The only difference between the two is the amount of screens you can stream to simultaneously - two on Kayo basic and three on Kayo premium.
We probably don't need to point out, but if you've got mates who are also into NRL (and we're betting you do) both of these deals break down very affordably on a per person basis. Better still, Kayo Sports is contact-free and offer a 14-day FREE TRIAL so you can check it out for yourself, no strings attached. It's available on nearly all modern devices including Android and iOS mobiles, Macs, PC, Chromecast, select smart TVs and Android TVs, PCs and Macs, and Telstra TV boxes, with console support listed as "coming soon".
The other option to watch NRL in Australia is via Foxtel, a premium TV offering that offers comprehensive rugby league coverage on Fox Sports but is considerably more expensive than Kayo - and requires you to sign on for a 12-month plan.
Match times vary but are typically in the evening local time in Australia.
How to watch the NRL abroad: live stream Australian rugby league footy wherever you are
Watching the NRL in Australia is easy, but what about in other countries around the world where the excellent Kayo Sports service isn't available? There's no need to miss a second of the Aussie rugby league action, thanks to Watch NRL - a global subscription service that will give you access to every single NRL match this season. Available whether you're in Boston, Birmingham or Bangkok, the league's official streaming service can be had on weekly, monthly and annual deals - of which the latter represents the best value.
Here's how Watch NRL is priced in various footy loving places around the world - or rather, various places where footy loving Aussies are likely to find themselves wanting to watch the NRL 2020 season.
- Weekly: US$17 / £13 / €17 - GET PLAN
- Monthly: US$33 / £25 / €33 - GET PLAN
- Annual: US$165 / £130 / €155 - GET PLAN
Now, let's look at some other NRL live stream options around the world.
How to watch the NRL in New Zealand: live stream details for the 2020 season
How to watch the NRL in the UK: live stream Aussie rugby league footy
How to watch the NRL: live stream Aussie rugby league in the US
Live stream the NRL: How to watch in Canada
How to live stream the NRL and watch online from outside your country
Australians who subscribe to a service like Kayo but find themselves abroad for the next big NRL clash will probably find it's down to a geo-blocking restriction. When this is the case, the simplest and most reliable solution is to use a VPN service to change your IP address to a difference location.
This will generally let you tune in to your local coverage, just as you would from home, and means you don't have to trawl the sketchier corners of the internet for an illegal stream.
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