Mack Hansen may swap to fullback for Fiji Test

Dan Sheehan and Sean Jansen’s unavailability will see Andy Farrell shuffle his team to face Fiji on Saturday (kick-off 8.10pm) although without radically dipping into his squad.The Ireland head coach is mindful this is the first of just eight competitive games between now and the World Cup, leaving little time to further hone the style of play Ireland showed in last Friday’s win over Argentina. The belief from the camp is also that Mack Hansen, Robert Baloucoune and Josh van der Flier will all be fit for this weekend’s return to the Aviva Stadium.With no specialist number eights called into the squad to fill the void created by Jansen, who joins Caelan Doris and Jack Conan on the sidelines, Nick Timoney could well be afforded his opportunity to showcase his versatility, shifting from openside.Hansen, Andrew Porter and Ryan Baird played their first Test in almost a year last week, and being relatively light on matches at international level, may well start again against Fiji.READ MORECan Ireland beat Fiji and South Africa? Hansen’s playmaking and heads-up ability were on show against Argentina when he adorned a well-executed strike play with the instinctive floated pass which led to the first of Hugo Keenan’s hat-trick.That try, and last week’s performance overall, showed Farrell wants to give his players launch plays and structure while also allowing them freedom to play what they see. Hansen will flourish in this approach.Keenan is on 49 caps and, given Farrell’s fondness for celebrating landmarks, his 50th cap is perhaps more likely to be against South Africa on Saturday week rather than this time out. If that’s the case, Hansen could well be named at fullback, having scored a hat-trick against Australia last November from 15.Baloucoune is another key component of the Irish attack and remains relatively unexposed to Test rugby, so if he has trained fully this week then the temptation may be to start him again, perhaps alongside another speedster, Tommy O’Brien.It would be the partnership’s third outing, having previously lined out together against England and Scotland in last season’s Six Nations, scoring five tries between them over the two Tests.After being named on the bench for last weekend’s fixture, Bundee Aki was subsequently ruled out due to illness but resumed full training on Tuesday, so he looks likely to be involved in some way against Fiji. Either he or Stuart McCloskey will start at inside centre, possibly with the other named among the replacements as Farrell has a liking for an impactful centre on the bench. Robbie Henshaw also offers that option, while the in-form Jimmy O’Brien has the versatility to make him another worthy option.Sam Prendergast during last week's Nations Championship Test against Argentina. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho A little surprisingly, but mindful of the short run to the World Cup, the indications are that Sam Prendergast may be retained at outhalf. For Ciarán Frawley, a dozen of his 14 caps have been as a replacement, and only once has he started a Test at 10. However, his move to Connacht, where he has quickly established himself as the first-choice outhalf, has been a success.Although Craig Casey started last week, the probability is that he will rotate with Jamison Gibson-Park. The latter’s only outings so far this season have been Leinster’s win over Munster last month and a 26-minute cameo against Argentina last Friday, so he could surely do with more rugby before facing the Springboks.After nearly a year’s absence through injury, Baird is again an integral part of Ireland’s improved lineout and more besides, so he could be retained in a reconfigured backrow alongside Timoney and Van der Flier.IRELAND (possible v Fiji): M Hansen; R Baloucoune, J Osborne, B Aki/S McCloskey, T O’Brien; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Furlong; J Ryan, T Beirne (capt); R Baird, J van der Flier, N Timoney. Replacements: T Stewart, T O’Toole/B Bohan, S Illo/T Clarkson, D Murray, C Prendergast/J McNabney, C Casey, C Frawley, B Aki/S McCloskey/R Henshaw/J O’Brien.