This year marks the 20th anniversary of the inaugural season of the National Rugby League, Australia’s leading professional men’s rugby league. The main competition is the Telstra Premiership, where fifteen teams from Australia and one from New Zealand participate. The Telstra Premiership is one of the most popular rugby events in the world and millions of viewers are getting ready for March 8th, when the 2018 season starts with the Brisbane Broncos facing the St. George Illawarra Dragons. The grand final will take place in September. Other events of the NRL include the State of Origin, where Queensland and New South Wales compete and it starts on June 6th.
If you love rugby, but live outside Australia, the bad news is that you will come across restrictions if you try to watch NRL matches. There are geographical blocks in place designed to prevent viewers abroad to enjoy the NRL, which is a pity since Australian rugby is famous worldwide for its high quality. However, there is a way to get around the restrictions in order to enjoy every moment of the 2018 season of the NRL, even if you don’t live in Australia. In this guide, we’ll tell you how you can defeat the geo-blocks and watch NRL online from any location.
How to watch NRL Live outside Australia
Although there are some international TV channels broadcasting NRL matches in different parts of the world, it is possible to use alternative methods to enjoy all the action of the NRL online. You can try online streaming channels or NRL Digital Pass, but the problem with these options is that both of them are subjected to geographical restrictions, meaning that fans outside Australia won’t be able to access them. That is, unless they use a VPN service. This technology allows you to disguise your IP address so you can appear as if you were in Australia, which will give you the chance to watch NRL matches, no matter where you are.
Watching NRL outside Australia
Fans in the US can enjoy the live action from the National Rugby League by accessing streaming channels or NRL Digital Pass in your country. You just need to subscribe to a VPN service that has servers in Australia. Once the VPN is running on your device, you can obtain an Australian IP address by connecting to a server there. Your IP address will be masked and you will be able to watch NRL matches.
Broadcasting Channels
Some of the official broadcasters for the National Rugby League include Premier Sports, Fox Sports, Livestream and Sport24. These options offer a practical way to watch the matches, but you may come across error messages letting you know that the service is not available in your location. While some cable subscriptions may allow you to watch matches abroad, many people won’t want to tie themselves to a contract. Accessing an online service is more practical, but in order to get around the restrictions, you need to use a VPN service.
NRL Digital Pass
You can also watch NRL live using Digital Pass, a service that allows you to access 7 live games every round. It offers HD quality and apart from live games, you can watch hundreds of archived games, premium NRL content on several devices and enjoy other advantages. Again, the downside is that there are geographical restrictions. However, you can get around them with a VPN.
Below there is a list of the best services to defeat the blocks and watch NRL.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is ideal for streaming thanks to its impressive speeds and it is known as one of the best companies in the VPN industry. ExpressVPN’s fast service is well-known and the provider is also a reliable solution that offers strong security. You will be able to watch matches and enjoy security at the same time. At the moment, they have servers in 94 countries, including Australia, where you can connect to servers in Sydney and Melbourne. ExpressVPN has high quality software and its solid privacy policy states that no logs of your online activities are kept.
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access, or simply PIA as it is known, is a provider that has build a solid reputation thanks to the affordability and solid quality of its service. When you select their yearly plan the total price is $39.95, which means that you pay less than $3.40 per month. You can access over 3000 servers in 28 countries, including Australia. Private Internet Access doesn’t keep logs of your online activities and it delivers good speeds so you can enjoy NRL matches from any location.
PureVPN
PureVPN has an extensive selection of global locations allow you to access international content without worrying about geo-restrictions. With PureVPN, it is possible to enjoy great flexibility through its extensive network of servers in 141 countries. Of course, Australia is one of the countries supported and PureVPN allows you to connect to servers in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. PureVPN lets you defeat the restrictions that prevent you from accessing NRL games outside Australia. Another advantage is that they offer high encryption and don’t keep logs of your online traffic.
VyprVPN
When it comes to defeating geographical blocks, VyprVPN is an excellent solution because it has an exclusive technology that disguises VPN traffic and that lets you overcome blocks, no matter where you are. Their Chameleon protocol is designed to mask your VPN traffic so that you can bypass strong firewalls and Deep Packet Inspection. You will be able to watch NRL games using streaming channels or Digital Pass. VyprVPN lets you enjoy great speeds and it has servers in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne.