Ireland host Fiji at the Aviva Stadium on 14 November, looking to build on Argentina win

Kick-off and broadcast

Ireland host Fiji at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday, 14 November 2026, with kick-off at 8.10pm. That is 8:10pm GMT, which will be 8:10am on Sunday morning in Fiji. In the UK, ITV1 will show the match live and free-to-air from 7:30pm GMT, and it can also be streamed on ITVX, which is free with a sign-up. In Ireland the game is live on Virgin Media One, and RTÉ Radio 1's Sport Extra will carry live commentary.

Ireland's selection and form

Ireland opened their autumn campaign with a 42-12 bonus-point win over Argentina at the Aviva last weekend, and Hugo Keenan scored a hat-trick in that game. For this match Andy Farrell has made seven changes, with Mack Hansen moving to full-back while Keenan is rested. Tommy O'Brien starts on the left wing against Robert Baloucoune, and Bundee Aki and Jamie Osborne form a new centre partnership in place of Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw. Ireland have won three of their four Nations Championship matches, and the defeat in that run was a 40-21 loss to New Zealand at Eden Park. Ireland sit third in the northern hemisphere table on 15 points, two table points behind leaders France and 42 points of difference behind England.

Beirne's first home captaincy

Tadhg Beirne, the 34-year-old Munster captain, will lead Ireland at home for the first time and win his 75th cap. He is deputising for the injured Caelan Doris and for Dan Sheehan, who is unavailable because of concussion protocols. Beirne captained Ireland to a 36-20 win over Japan in July and played all 80 minutes of the Argentina game. This week he will lead the team meetings that Sheehan ran last week, which he said takes extra preparation. His wife, daughter, mum, dad and sister are expected at the stadium. He described the occasion at a press conference on Friday, 13 November:

“It's particularly special doing it at the Aviva, at home.”

Timoney and the back row

Nick Timoney is set to start at number eight, which would be his first start in that position, and his tenth successive Test for Ireland. He played the last 35 minutes at number eight against Argentina and has been an ever-present in matchday squads since turning 30. Farrell described his late development as the reward for hard work and a willingness to keep improving.

An RTÉ column by Lenihan noted that the first three choices at number eight are out through injury, and it backed Ryan Baird at number six. Lenihan also said the back row is where Ireland have the most injury problems.

Fiji's build-up

Fiji arrive after a 54-17 loss to France in Lyon and a 73-8 defeat by England in Liverpool, where they played a whole half with 14 men. They also lost to Wales and Scotland, which leaves them winless and bottom of the Southern Hemisphere table. Their Nations Championship home games were played on UK soil because of commercial considerations and because their national stadium was not considered suitable for regular Test matches. Fiji lost 20-15 to Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup final in September. Fiji have never beaten Ireland, and this will be the seventh official Test between the two sides, after Ireland won 35-17 in 2022 and 52-17 in 2024.

What is at stake

A place in the first Nations Championship final at Twickenham on Sunday, 29 November depends on the rest of Ireland's autumn. Ireland host South Africa the following weekend, their third home game of the month, and the Irish Examiner reported that a final place is only within reach with a comprehensive win. Beirne said the team's focus is on building on the Argentina performance.

“The big focus for us is to continue building on our performance, particularly from last week.”

The first step is the Fiji game, with kick-off at 8.10pm in Dublin on Saturday, 14 November.