Watch South Africa Vs. Italy 2019 Rugby World Cup Stream Live: Start Time, Preview, Must-Win For Springboks
The South Africa Springboks, two-time Rugby World Cup champions, find themselves in a desperate situation in the 2019 tournament. They sit third on the Pool B table behind three-time champs New Zealand and, in one of the surprises of the tournament so far, the gli Azzurri of Italy, who lead the group with 10 points after two matches.
But South Africa may hold an advantage, having already faced, and lost to, the All Blacks, as The Inquisitr reported. Italy, on the other hand, have accumulated their points with wins against overmatched Canada and Namibia.
South Africa has defeated Italy in 13 out of 14 test matches, but in the most recent confrontation three years ago, Italy came away with a stunning upset victory, a result they aim to repeat in the Rugby World Cup match that will stream live from Japan.
To find out how to watch a live online stream of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B match pitting South Africa vs. Italy, see the streaming information at the bottom of this article. The match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Japan Standard Time on Friday, October 4, at the 50,889-seat Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA in Fukuroi, Shizuoka, Japan.
In South Africa, the game kicks off at 11:30 a.m. South African Standard Time, which will also be the start time in Italy, in the Central European Summer Time zone. In the United Kingdom, the match kicks off at 10:30 a.m. British Summer Time. In Australia, the match gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Australia Standard Time on Friday, and 5:30 p.m. Western.
Rugby fans in the United States can catch the Springboks vs. Azzurri Rugby World Cup match at 5:30 a.m. ET on Friday, 2:30 a.m. PT.
Though the Springboks rolled over Namibia last Saturday, and should have another win against Canada on Tuesday, Coach Rassie Erasmus says that the clash with Italy has kept him up at night, and he knows that the game is an “all or nothing” must-win, according to Rugby World Cup.
“We’ve been building for 20 test matches, and it’s do-or-die this weekend,” said Erasmus on Friday. “The players feel it, and I have a little bit of butterflies, because we’ve lost to Italy (in 2016).”
Erasmus has strengthened his side with three changes from the defeat to New Zealand, according to a Telegraph report. Hooker Bongi Mbonambi, prop Tendai Mtawarira, as well as lock Lood de Jager, will all come into the side that must take the victory over the Azzurri to keep South Africa’s hopes of a record-tying third World Cup title alive.
Watch highlights of South Africa’s 57-3 domination of Namibia in the video below, courtesy of NBC Sports.
To watch a free live online stream of the South Africa vs. Italy Friday 2019 Rugby World Cup showdown in the United States, access the feed offered by NBC Sports Live Extra, the online service of NBC Sports.
The game will livestream on ITV Hub in the United Kingdom. In Italy, Rai TV will stream the match for free. Fans in Australia can watch a livestream via 10 Play, which will also stream the match for free. Foxtel will also livestream the South Africa vs. Italy Rugby World Cup match in Australia, as will Spark Sport in New Zealand, and TSN in Canada.
