Beirne captains Ireland, Timoney starts at 8 v Fiji

Updated / Thursday, 12 Nov 2026 15:01

Tadhg Beirne will captain Ireland in Saturday's Nations Championship meeting with Fiji, while Nick Timoney has won the race to start at number 8 in the absence of Sean Jansen.

Head coach Andy Farrell has made seven changes to the side that defeated Argentina 42-12 last week, with Joe McCarthy and Hugo Keenan seemingly rested ahead of next week's clash with South Africa.

With Dan Sheehan injured, Munster's Tadhg Beirne captains Ireland for just the second time, having skippered the side in their Nations Championship win against Japan in the summer, and he's joined in the second row by James Ryan, who replaces McCarthy.

Rónan Kelleher replaces Sheehan at hooker, while Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong continue at prop.

Timoney moves across from flanker to number 8 this weekend. While he has never started in that position for Ireland, the 31-year-old played a large portion of his rugby there for Ulster earlier in his career.

Josh van der Flier returns to the starting team at openside flanker, after featuring from the bench a week ago, while Ryan Baird continues on the blindside, after an impressive return last week.

Sam Prendergast (above) retains the 10 shirt, having scored his first Test try against Los Pumas, while Jamison Gibson-Park comes in for Craig Casey at scrum-half.

The centre partnership is changed, with Bundee Aki and Jamie Osborne coming into the starting side, replacing Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw.

Mack Hansen moves to full-back to cover Keenan's absence, with Tommy O'Brien coming into the team on the left wing, and Rob Baloucoune shaking off a minor injury to start again in the 14 shirt.

Ulster's James McNabney is in line for his Test debut off the bench, with the 23-year-old preferred to Cian Prendergast, while his provincial team-mates Tom Stewart and Tom O'Toole, as well as Connacht's Sam Illo and Darragh Murray will provide forward reinforcements.

Casey and Ciarán Frawley are the half-back replacements, while McCloskey will also be available off the bench.

Ireland: Mack Hansen; Rob Baloucoune, Jamie Osborne, Bundee Aki, Tommy O'Brien; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Nick Timoney

Replacements: Tom Stewart, Tom Stewart, Sam Illo, Darragh Murray, James McNabney, Craig Casey, Ciarán Frawley, Stuart McCloskey

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Follow a live blog of Ireland v Fiji on Saturday (8.10pm) on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Sport Extra

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