BOTH DEVIN TONER and Robbie Henshaw will hope to get valuable minutes under their belt after three months on the sideline when the pair make their long-awaited injury returns for Leinster tomorrow.
Toner has recovered from ankle surgery to be named in Leo Cullen’s team for Saturday’s Guinness Pro14 clash against Glasgow Warriors [KO 3pm, eir Sport/Premier Sports], while Henshaw has shaken off a complex dead leg injury to start in midfield.
Neither Toner or Henshaw have played since Ireland lost to England on the opening weekend of the Six Nations back in February, handing a timely boost to Leinster ahead of next weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse.
Cullen has re-integrated a number of frontline internationals back into his plans for the visit of Glasgow to the RDS, with Rob Kearney, Jordan Larmour and Seán O’Brien all returning to duty to start.
O’Brien will captain a much-changed side from the one which drew with Benetton last week, as the province gear up towards their Easter Sunday showdown with Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium.
Kearney will be keen to remind Cullen of his enduring worth at fullback after being left out of the starting XV against Ulster in the quarter-final, with Larmour and Dave Kearney named on the wings.
Henshaw partners Joe Tomane in midfield, while Ross Byrne has shaken off a foot problem to start at out-half alongside Jamison Gibson-Park. Luke McGrath is given the weekend off after captaining Leinster against Benetton.
Ed Byrne, James Tracy and Michael Bent start in the front row, with Toner back from injury to take his place in the engine room alongside academy second row Jack Dunne.
It will be a first Leinster start for 20-year-old Dunne, who put in a huge defensive shift off the bench last week.
Josh Murphy has recovered from illness to start in the back row with O’Brien and Caelan Doris, while there is a potential seasonal debut off the bench for Will Connors.
Connors injured his ACL against Newcastle Falcons in the pre-season friendly back in August, and should he come on, will become the 56th player used by Leinster this season.
Sean Cronin, Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong are back in the matchday 23 and named on the bench for Leinster, who have already assured themselves of a home semi-final.
Leinster:
15. Rob Kearney
14. Jordan Larmour
13. Joe Tomane
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Dave Kearney
10. Ross Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Ed Byrne
2. James Tracy
3. Michael Bent
4. Devin Toner
5. Jack Dunne
6. Josh Murphy
7. Seán O’Brien (captain)
8. Caelan Doris.
Replacements:
16. Seán Cronin
17. Cian Healy
18. Tadhg Furlong
19. Will Connors
20. Max Deegan
21. Hugh O’Sullivan
22. Ciarán Frawley
23. Adam Byrne.
Glasgow Warriors:
15. Stuart Hogg
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Kyle Steyn
12. Sam Johnson
11. Niko Matawalu
10. Adam Hastings
9. Ali Price
1. Jamie Bhatti
2. Fraser Brown
3. Zander Fagerson
4. Scott Cummings
5. Jonny Gray
6. Rob Harley
7. Chris Fusaro (captain)
8. Matt Fagerson.
Replacements:
16. Grant Stewart
17. Alex Allan
18. D’Arcy Rae
19. Bruce Flockhart
20. Adam Ashe
21. George Horne
22. Pete Horne
23. Huw Jones.
Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella are joined by Bernard Jackman to discuss Izzy Folau’s impending sacking by Australia and all the week’s news on the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
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