Ireland’s Nick Timoney set for opportunity at number eight after Sean Jansen injury

Ireland will have to delve further into their resources for Saturday’s Nations Championship Test against Fiji at the Aviva Stadium after injuries to forwards Sean Jansen and Dan Sheehan have impacted head coach Andy Farrell’s plans to rotate following Friday night’s 42-12 victory over Argentina.Jansen has returned to Connacht to rehabilitate the knee injury that rules him out for the remainder of the month’s fixtures. First-choice hooker Sheehan, who captained Ireland against Argentina, is scheduled to return to training early next week after completing the 12-day return-to-play concussion protocols, putting him in contention for the meeting with South Africa the following Saturday.Jansen had spoken last week of wanting to seize the opportunity to secure a place in Ireland’s World Cup squad, with Farrell’s first-choice number eights Caelan Doris and Jack Conan both missing the four-game window through injury.“It’s a shame for Sean,” said Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty. “He’s been really good with Connacht, came in and trained really, really well, wanted to put a marker down, and he has done in training. It’s a shame he’s got that injury.READ MORE“It’s disappointing, Sean wanted to play every game. It’s not going to be, but that’s how the game is. But he’s a quality player and there’s no doubt he’ll be back.”Farrell’s team will be announced on Thursday afternoon. Josh van der Flier (ankle) and Rob Baloucoune (cramp) are expected to be fit, as is Mack Hansen, who had an ankle issue against Argentina. Leinster hooker Gus McCarthy, selected to captain Ireland XV against Fiji A next week, is training with the senior squad this week, as is Ulster backrow David McCann.McCann’s Ulster team-mate Nick Timoney is likely to get his first Test start at number eight in place of Jansen. Ironically, had he been fit, Sheehan might also have come into consideration for the position, having successfully made his first start there for Leinster last month.Timoney has played across the backrow throughout his Ulster career. He was the province’s regular number eight during the 2023-24 season and continued in the role at the start of the following campaign, but has since developed his game primarily as a number seven.Fogarty is confident he has the attributes to make the transition to the base of the scrum at international level.“Well, he’s incredibly explosive,” Fogarty said. “He’s got a great set of hands on him. Why can’t he do it? You see Ben Earl, not the biggest man. Nick’s a far bigger guy. He does very well off the back of a scrum. In open play off the strike runners, he’s excellent as well.“So Nick is capable of playing across the backrow, which makes him, as you move towards a World Cup, a very interesting player to have in your squad.Ireland's Dan Sheehan offloads to Nick Timoney against Argentina. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho “We’re happy with what we have. We have props able to play loosehead and tighthead. You saw Ports [Andrew Porter] play loosehead and then come on as a tighthead. Having these hybrid players is a good thing.“You’re given opportunities at times to see what that looks like. Leinster did that with Dan as an eight, and it’s not a bad thing. South Africa have been doing that for a little bit. Some guys have the capability to play in different positions and Nick is probably one of those guys.“Dan is probably one of those guys, with what they can do physically.”Fogarty also suggested Timoney could provide cover at hooker if required, having trained in the position previously. He coached the 31-year-old as he came out of school and believed he had the potential to make a career in the frontrow.“I thought he’d make a brilliant hooker back then,” Fogarty recalled. “He’s a legitimate option, but I’m not sure we need to play him there.“We’ve got really good hookers in the two lads, Dan and Rónan [Kelleher]. But Tom [Stewart] and Gus, they are really, really good hookers. We’d probably look to give them time in the saddle going forward.”Fogarty has also changed his approach to coaching Ireland’s scrum. Following conversations with former Ireland loosehead Cian Healy, he decided to place greater emphasis on getting Ireland’s own set-piece right rather than concentrating too heavily on the opposition.Ireland’s forwards were shown fewer clips of Argentina’s scrum, and the same approach will apply against Fiji and South Africa, despite the threat posed by a Springboks pack that overwhelmed Ireland in Dublin last year.“Cian hated seeing anyone else, he wanted to focus on himself,” Fogarty explained. “Part of me coming to that decision was part of what Cian was talking about.“The focus again has to be on what it is you need to do in an Irish pack. That’s it. Sometimes in the past I’ve been overly focused on the what-ifs: ‘If we don’t get this right, this is what’s coming.’ And you learn as you go.“I’m confident and the players are clear in what it is they’re chasing down. This week is another step towards us getting better, getting more consistent. That’s genuinely where we’re at.”