All you need to know about Ireland v Fiji

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.

When is kick-off?

The match takes place at 15:10 GMT at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

How can I follow on the BBC?

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.

When are the line-ups announced?

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will name his team on Thursday afternoon at 14:00 GMT.

Fiji will also announce their line-up on Thursday.

Who is the referee?

Scottish referee Hollie Davidson will be the one with the whistle in Dublin on Saturday afternoon.

She will be assisted by her compatriot Sam Grove-White and Englishman Matthew Carley.

Scotland's Mike Adamson will act as the television match official [TMO].

Team news

Tadhg Furlong [right] has not featured for Ireland this autumn

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.

Form book

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.

Previous meetings

This is the first time Ireland have played Fiji since a 35-17 win in November 2022.

Saturday's hosts have won all five of their previous Test meetings against Fiji, with all of that quintet having been played in Dublin.

While there were games played between the two nations in 1976 and 1985, the first official Test came in 1995, won 44-8 by Ireland.

Ireland have averaged more than 40 points a game against their weekend opponents, although were lucky to escape their 2017 clash with a 23-20 win.

Farrell's Lions sabbatical starting to loom large

Andy Farrell will lead the British and Irish Lions in Australia next summer

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.