Ireland make seven changes and name uncapped McNabney on bench

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has made seven changes to his team to face Fiji, with uncapped Ulster forward James McNabney named among the replacements. According to BBC Sport, the selection also includes positional changes for Nick Timoney and Mack Hansen as Ireland reshape the side that beat Argentina 42-12 in the Nations Championship.

Timoney moves from open-side flanker to number eight because Caelan Doris, Jack Conan and Sean Jansen are all unavailable through injury. It will be his first Test start in that position. Josh van der Flier returns at open-side, while Ryan Baird retains the blind-side role after starting against Argentina. The changes give Ireland a different back-row combination for Saturday's match.

McNabney's inclusion follows a lengthy recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him out for the entire 2025-26 season. The 23-year-old has started only one match for Ulster this season and will earn his first Ireland cap if he comes off the bench. He is joined among the replacements by provincial colleagues Tom Stewart, Tom O'Toole and Stuart McCloskey.

Farrell has also changed the front and second rows. Ronan Kelleher starts at hooker in place of Dan Sheehan, who is ruled out with concussion, while James Ryan comes in alongside stand-in captain Tadhg Beirne as Joe McCarthy leaves the squad. Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong retain the starting prop positions. Replacement lock Darragh Murray is in line for a fourth international appearance.

In the backline, Hansen moves to full-back with Hugo Keenan absent from the squad despite his three tries against Argentina. Tommy O'Brien returns on the left wing, while Bundee Aki and Jamie Osborne form the centre partnership. Aki had withdrawn from the Argentina match because of illness. McCloskey's move to the bench ends his run of starting every Ireland match in 2026.

Jamison Gibson-Park returns at scrum-half after Craig Casey started the previous match, with Sam Prendergast retained at fly-half and Ciaran Frawley providing cover among the replacements. Rob Baloucoune also keeps his place. Ireland's selection announcement comes with the team third in the competition's northern hemisphere standings, behind France and England, after winning three of their four games.