Live: Ireland squad to be named for Nations Championship

From Gerry Thornley: Despite James Lowe’s departure to Japan, Hansen’s return makes the stock of outside backs look relatively healthy. Tommy O’Brien is also back after being withdrawn from the summer expedition due to the hamstring injury he picked up in Leinster’s URC final win over the Bulls.Jimmy O’Brien has carried on his end-of-season form with Leinster which earned him a starting place in all three summer Tests, while Jacob Stockdale and Robert Baloucoune are also in good form for Ulster, as is Hugo Keenan with Leinster.The official squad announcement is expected about 3pm.Some Ireland XV news from John O’Sullivan:The IRFU has confirmed that an Ireland XV will take on Fiji ‘A’ at Virgin Media Park on Friday, November 20th (7.45pm) in a double-header along with the Ireland Under-20 taking on their Scotland counterparts (5pm). It is the first of three outings for the Ireland XV this season.The Ireland XV will be coached by Mark Sexton (Ulster) who will be assisted by Jimmy Duffy (Munster), Jared Payne (Munster) and IRFU performance pathway scrum coach, Seamus Toomey. The game takes place the night before Ireland’s Nations Championship clash with South Africa at the Aviva Stadium.The fixture will form part of an important series of matches throughout the upcoming campaign for Ireland XV, with a renewed focus on developing emerging talent and providing players of national interest with valuable match minutes in green and exposure to a national team environment.[ Ireland XV will take on Fiji ‘A’ in double-header with Ireland under-20s in NovemberOpens in new window ]From Gerry Thornley: Sam Prendergast’s form and Ciarán Frawley’s impressive start to life at Connacht is timely in the absence of Jack Crowley, but there could be surprise third choice at outhalf given Harry Byrne has only played 30 minutes of rugby this season due to a recent concussion, while Joey Carbery only returned from a lengthy absence last Saturday.Jamie Benson is a product of the Harlequins academy and has played for the England Under-18s and Under-20s, but is Irish-qualified through his mother, who grew up in Belfast. The 24-year-old is highly versatile, having played at outhalf, centre and fullback for ‘Quins, with two-thirds of his starts coming at 10. After three games in the Ulster midfield following his summer move, he made his first start at outhalf in last week’s win away to Zebre. He looks a real dark horse for inclusion.[ Ireland boosted by return of Porter, Baird and Hansen for Nations ChampionshipOpens in new window ]Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will name his team to face Argentina, Fiji and South Africa in the Nations Championship on Wednesday afternoon, expected about 3pm. Captain Caelan Doris will miss the series with a foot injury, but Andrew Porter, Ryan Baird and Mack Hansen are expected to be back after significant injuries themselves.Ireland will play three games at the Aviva, against Argentina (November 6th), Fiji (November 14th) and South Africa (November 21st), before a concluding playoff at Twickenham on the last weekend of the month.