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Ireland v Fiji: Kick-off time, team news and all you need to know as Fiji visit Dublin
B.Martinez36 min ago
Ireland secured a much-needed win against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night and it was certainly a better performance than the one that saw them beaten by the All Blacks seven days prior. The Six Nations champions still do not look back to their fluid best however. Playing Fiji on Saturday afternoon, head coach Andy Farrell will need to balance restoring that continuity and giving game-time to more of his panel during a challenging November fixture list. Here is all you need to know about Ireland v Fiji. You can follow blow-by-blow action on Saturday afternoon with our live text commentary. You can also listen by tuning into BBC Sounds or BBC Radio Ulster, with audio also available on the BBC Sport website & app. For all the build-up and analysis, make sure to follow the Irish Rugby page. Ireland are expected to issue an injury update on Monday but there will again be plenty of interest regarding Tadhg Furlong's availability. The tight-head prop has been struggling with a hamstring injury sustained during the side's warm weather training in Portugal. The 32-year-old was at the Aviva Stadium for Ireland's win over Argentina on Friday but got no closer to the action than watching the warm-up. With Tom O'Toole having also been absent, Leinsterman Thomas Clarkson made his debut from the bench. Ireland appeared to come through that 22-19 victory over the Pumas relatively unscathed, although lock Ryan Baird did depart shortly after coming on as a second-half replacement. For Fiji, former Bristol Bears centre Semi Radradra is suspended following the red card he received against Wales. Ireland got back to winning ways against Argentina last Friday after a sobering loss to the All Blacks had left them as losers of three of their past five Tests. Their performance against the Pumas was far from perfect, especially when failing to score a single point in the second half, but on the whole the side did show signs of progress in the second of their four autumn games. Fiji already have three games under their belts this month, having responded to heavy defeat against Scotland by heaping more misery on Wales. They backed up that Cardiff victory with a 33-19 win over Spain on Saturday, although they were 19-7 behind before scoring four tries in the final half hour. With the IRFU's 150th anniversary celebrations meaning Ireland will play four Tests this autumn rather than their usual three, Andy Farrell has two games remaining before his sabbatical to coach the British and Irish Lions in Australia next summer. In all, the Englishman will go 11 months without leading an Irish side, putting a greater onus on his selections over the next fortnight. He is expected to rotate his panel for Saturday's game before welcoming Australia to Dublin on 30 November, with those involved sure to be keen to take what could be one final opportunity to catch the coach's eye until this time next year.
Read the full article:https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/articles/cn8lzwepnx5o
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