12 OF TODAY’S Leinster XV played under Stuart Lancaster when he was with the province.

One of this Leinster side, Ciarán Frawley, will be playing under Lancaster again in Connacht next season. And it may be that one or two other Leinster players decide to make the move west this summer.

So there is a real sense of familiarity for Lancaster as his Connacht team look to turn their poor recent form around this evening at the Aviva Stadium [KO 5.30pm, TG4/Premier Sports/URC TV].

Connacht rallied late on against Ulster last weekend but in truth, it was a miserable outing as they lost at home in a big inter-provincial.

That followed the bleak hammering at the hands of Dragons and the reality is that Connacht are already playing catch-up in their bid to be a top-eight team in the URC this season.

Everyone has long-term plans and Lancaster probably knew that it would take time to make the changes he wants to make in Connacht, but two wins from seven games so far in this league season wouldn’t have been part of those plans.

Connacht have yet to register back-to-back wins this season as their longstanding inconsistency has continued, but the biggest need right now is simply to get momentum back into their campaign with improved performances.

It’s not ideal that they visit Dublin in such need.

Leinster have recovered from their worrying start to the campaign by winning six games in a row in the URC and Champions Cup. And though their performance levels aren’t where they want them to be, that winning feeling is very welcome.

As has been the case for pretty much the entire campaign so far, today involves another shake-up of the team as Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber continue to manage their own and Ireland’s resources.

Ireland internationals James Lowe, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, Paddy McCarthy, James Ryan, and captain Caelan Doris drop out of the 23 after last weekend’s hard-fought win over Munster in Limerick, while Ireland internationals Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan, and Sam Prendergast return having missed that trip to Limerick.

There’s a first appearance since October for flanker Will Connors after his recent recovery from injury, while the lively JJ Kenny gets another chance to impress on the wing.

Connacht’s desire for more spark has seen Lancaster start Matthew Devine and Josh Ioane in the halfbacks after their impact from the bench against Ulster last time out, albeit out-half Jack Carty was ruled out due to injury.

David Hawkshaw comes in at number 13, Chay Mullins gets the nod on the right wing, and Dylan Tierney-Martin replaces the injured Dave Heffernan at hooker, but Lancaster has otherwise stuck with the same side as last weekend against Ulster.

The bench is bolstered by the return of the in-form Paul Boyle and it’s a big chance for academy props Billy Bohan and Fiachna Barrett to impress as replacements.

Connacht are the firm underdogs here but Lancaster needs to see signs of progress after a tough couple of weeks for the province. 

LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Tommy O’Brien, Hugh Cooney, Charlie Tector, JJ Kenny; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan (captain), Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, Brian Deeny; Diarmuid Mangan, Will Connors, Jack Conan.

Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, Conor O’Tighearnaigh, Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne.

CONNACHT: Sam Gilbert; Chay Mullins, David Hawkshaw, Bundee Aki, Finn Treacy; Josh Ioane, Matthew Devine; Denis Buckley, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Finlay Bealham; Joe Joyce, David O’Connor; Josh Murphy, Cian Prendergast (captain), Sean Jansen.

Replacements: Eoin de Buitlear, Billy Bohan, Fiachna Barrett, Darragh Murray, Paul Boyle, Ben Murphy, Harry West, Cathal Forde.

Referee: Andrew Brace [IRFU].