S4C has struck a deal to show every Wales match in the Guinness Six Nations for the next four years, it has been revealed.

It means the Welsh language broadcaster will be the only place to watch live coverage of Wales’ matches after securing an agreement with the BBC and ITV.

The news comes after S4C missed out on Wales’ autumn internationals as the rugby fixtures were taken off terrestrial TV and shown on Amazon Prime.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Sport, Tom Giffard MS, said: “Rugby is our national sport and thousands of people up and down the country enjoy nothing more than watching the Six Nations tournament every year.

“Whilst it was disappointing for some that the autumn internationals moved behind a paywall this year, I am delighted to see Wales’ Six Nations matches will be shown for free on S4C.

“Fans across Wales - myself included - will be very grateful that we can continue to watch Wales, hopefully on the road to victory, on terrestrial TV.”

Shadow minister for the Welsh language, Samuel Kurtz MS, added:

“S4C role in enriching Welsh culture and safeguarding our language is clear to see and I have no doubt this deal will be a huge boost for the channel.

“On-screen and digitally, S4C deliver a first-class rugby product and have served Wales and our language brilliantly over the years. I’m pleased to see this continue over the next four years and that the Welsh language will be at the heart of the northern hemisphere’s flagship rugby tournament.”