Kidney to lead for Fiji match

Declan Kidney and the full Ireland management team will take charge of the Ireland XV squad to face Fiji at Thomond Park on November 17, the IRFU has announced.

There had been speculation that a separate coaching panel would be put in place for the fixture, which falls between Tests at Aviva Stadium against South Africa and Argentina, but Ireland head coach Kidney, along with his assistants Les Kiss, Gert Smal and Mark Tainton, have been confirmed to lead Ireland into this non-cap international.

The last time Fiji played in Ireland was in 2009 when the home side beat the tourists 41-6 at the RDS in front of 17,000 supporters. Keen to draw a similarly large crowd to Limerick, the IRFU yesterday announced ticket prices starting at €15 for a terrace ticket with stand tickets selling at between €20 and €30 and a junior ticket for €7. There is also a 10% early-bird discount on those prices, “while stocks last” at both Ticketmaster.ie and munsterrugby.ie, as an Ireland XV returns to Thomond Park for the first time since taking on the Barbarians in May 2010.