Apart from jumping on a plane to Buenos Aires what are my chances of finding somewhere to watch next Saturday's Wallabies v All Blacks match while in Rio? Kick off is about 4.30am Brazilian time

That will be tough. The English/Irish Pubs close earlier than that (and would not be likely to show it anyway), so internet streaming from your hotel room would probably be your best chance!

Thanks for the reply - I'm sure you're right, the English/Irish pubs would probably be showing that bizarre round ball game on their screens. Their is an Outback Steakhouse but the only thing Australian about that is the Fosters (which is no doubt made locally under licence).

Internet streaming I have problem enough just getting the TV to work in hotel rooms.

I did have a look at the local ESPN website but there seem to be 4 available ESPN channels in Brasil and the only one I have ever seen provided at the Sheraton or Intercontinental is ESPN Brasil. The regular ESPN channel seems to broadcast the Trinations but the timing seems a bit strange. It had the Springboks/All Blacks match yesterday listed Ao vivo at around midday in Brasil which would have had them taking the field at around 2am in Wellington

Any hotels with DSTV in Rio?

Any other suggestions would be welcome

Popular football (soccer) games are shown at almost all restaurants and bars. Since the decline in number of pubs in Rio (Irish Pub @Praca Gen. Osorio is closed, Shenanigan's not open in afternoon (=no Champions League), and the short life of the one I do not remember the name of), we are now left with Lord Jim, Mud Bug and Shenanigan's. But Banana Jack's is also an ok place to watch sports. Frontera also has either ESPN or SporTV on the screen nonstop. Outback closes around midnight or 1am.

But again, non of these places are open 4.30am.

I have no suggestions, other than streaming. I have, from Rio, watched various sports on streaming including Champions League, boxing and Tour de France.

You could give the Oz consulate a call? Problems like this is why they are there, right?

I know of just one Irish pub and no English ones (since Lord Jim's closed) in Rio, but I'm sure there are others. However, I agree that none will open at 4:30 a.m. (would have to get local staff to work, etc.).

If you are really serious about it, I'd contact the Aussie and Kiwi consulates in Rio but I doubt even their staff will see the game except at home, and that's only if it's available through the cable or satellite TV provider they subscribe to (I'm in Fortaleza and I'm pretty sure it won't be carried here, though I won't be getting up at 4:30 a.m. to confirm that). But if you can find a service that will carry it, you could start contacting hotels, etc. And those consulates may have ideas on where to look, even if they don't invite you to one of their homes to watch (I realize that's rude-- you wouldn't even insist on a hot breakfast, I'm sure-- but I was once a diplomat and know what they're like). I've found the array of chanels in hotels varying widely in quality and selection. Maybe you can find the game on the Internet?

Thanks for the suggestions. The Australian Consulate in Rio is staffed by an Honorary Consul , a Brazilian who probably has not the slightest interest in Rugby. But then again a few months ago I had a very involved conversation on the prospects of the Queensland Reds in a McDonalds in Lisbon with a 10 yr old Portuguese rugby player so you never know.

I check in to the Sheraton Rio later today and will see if I can find a hotel with ESPN rather than ESPN Brasil. I remember being in the US for the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and a friend was able to get the telecast on Pay Per View.

I actually did look up the Aus/NZ consular services, and did notice the neither had a "real" consul in Rio. But TV solutions (if any) are probably the same as in Brasilia and Sao Paulo...

Good news is that 1)Sheraton Rio has ESPN
2)ESPN has exclusive rights to the Trinations
Bad news is that they are showing the match 32 hrs after its being played
Worse news is that even flying from Rio to Buenos Aires won't help as ESPN in Argentina isn't showing it live either.
Appalling news is that ESPN is showing a friendly between Ireland and Scotland live on Saturday -well of itself that's not appalling, but to not then not show the Bledisloe Cup game live preferring to have a replay of the World Series of Poker on at the time

So how does this live-streaming thing work. I've done a bit of a search and most of the links that Google comes up with look pretty shonky eg http://www.live-rugbychannel.com seems to have multiple domain names all with different pricing options that don't look very clear - sort of what I would expect if I was trying to buy Viagra online from India