Beirne to lead Ireland at home against Fiji
Tadhg Beirne will captain Ireland at home for the first time when they play Fiji at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday. He is standing in for two leaders who are both injured, Caelan Doris and Dan Sheehan, according to BBC Sport.
Beirne is a lock, the tall forward who works in the second row, where the big jobs are winning lineout ball and driving the scrum. He first captained Ireland in July, when they beat Japan 36-20 in the Nations Championship, the international competition running this autumn.
The match kicks off at 8.10pm in Dublin. Ireland come into it on a high. Last Friday, 6 November, they beat Argentina 42-12 at the same ground, and they led 21-5 at half-time. Beirne played all 80 minutes of that game.
Ireland have made a lot of changes for Fiji. Coach Andy Farrell has made seven personnel changes and two positional switches from the Argentina side, which is a lot of new faces for one match. Ronan Kelleher, a hooker who throws the ball in at lineouts, returns, as do James Ryan, a lock, and Josh van der Flier, a flanker who hunts for turnovers on the floor.
Behind the scrum, Jamison Gibson-Park comes in at scrum-half, the player who links the forwards with the backs. Bundee Aki, Jamie Osborne and Tommy O'Brien also come into the back line. Nick Timoney moves to number eight, the player at the back of the scrum who picks up and drives the ball, and Mack Hansen moves to full-back. Beirne will partner Ryan in the second row.
Ireland sit third in the northern hemisphere table of the Nations Championship. They have never lost to Fiji in a Test match, which is the term for a full international. Fiji are a Pacific side with a reputation for pace and offloading, so Ireland will need to stay tight in defence.
The fixture carries extra weight because of what comes next. Ireland play world champions South Africa at the Aviva the following Saturday, 21 November, with a 4.40pm kick-off, according to Irish Rugby.
For Beirne, the job is familiar in one sense. He has already done it once, and he played the whole of the last home game. This time he has a new front row to settle and a new line of backs to guide. Whether the changes click quickly will tell Farrell a good deal before South Africa arrive.
