HARRY BYRNE HAS been selected to start at out-half for Leinster in their Champions Cup clash against La Rochelle on Sunday [KO 3.15pm Irish time, live on TNT Sports 1 and Newstalk].
Will Connors, meanwhile, gets the nod ahead of Josh van Der Flier in the back row for the repeat of the last two Champions Cup finals at Stade Marcel Deflandre.
Otherwise, Leo Cullen has named a largely familiar XV — co-captained by Garry Ringrose and James Ryan — with a host of Ireland stars recalled as they look to end a three-game losing streak against Ronan O’Gara’s side.
Nine of the Leinster team that started last season’s final are in from the start this weekend.
Byrne beats Ciarán Frawley to the No 10 jersey, despite the latter’s strong showing in the recent win over Munster. It will be the 24-year-old Dubliner’s first start in the Champions Cup, following seven previous appearances from the bench.
Byrne was the starting out-half in last weekend’s victory over Connacht, with Frawley reverting to full-back but he drops to the replacements.
Connors’ selection ahead of van der Flier is a surprise. He has made just one start this season, having been plagued by injuries in recent years, and he will be tasked with combatting La Rochelle’s big-hitters during his first European appearance in over three years.
Meanwhile, hooker Dan Sheehan is set to make his 50th appearance, with Thomas Clarkson and Ben Murphy in line to make Champions Cup debuts off the bench.
“France is a magical place to go to play in this competition. There is nowhere tougher to go than the defending champions either,” Cullen said.
“It’s a great test for the the group. You want to test yourself against the best. We played at the stadium a few years ago during Covid, and there was no crowd. They have sold out 60 or 70 home games in-a-row now. It’ll be a great challenge.”
The La Rochelle team has also been named. Will Skelton, Uini Atonio and Jonathan Danty all start, while former Connacht man Ultan Dillane is among the replacements.
Leinster
- 15. Hugo Keenan
- 14. Jordan Larmour
- 13. Garry Ringrose (co-captain)
- 12. Robbie Henshaw
- 11. Jimmy O’Brien
- 10. Harry Byrne
- 9. Jamison Gibson-Park
- 1. Andrew Porter
- 2. Dan Sheehan
- 3. Michael Ala’alatoa
- 4. Joe McCarthy
- 5. James Ryan (co-captain)
- 6. Ryan Baird
- 7. Will Connors
- 8. Caelan Doris
Replacements:
- 16. Rónan Kelleher
- 17. Cian Healy
- 18. Thomas Clarkson
- 19. Jason Jenkins
- 20. Josh van der Flier
- 21. Ben Murphy
- 22. Ciarán Frawley
- 23. Charlie Ngatai.
La Rochelle
- 15. Brice Dulin
- 14. Dillyn Leyds
- 13. Ulupano Seuteni
- 12. Jonathan Danty
- 11. Jules Favre
- 10. Antoine Hastoy
- 9. Tawerra Kerr-Barlow
- 1. Reda Wardi
- 2. Pierre Bourgarit (captain)
- 3. Uini Atonio
- 4. Thomas Lavault
- 5. Will Skelton
- 6. Paul Boudehent
- 7. Levani Botia
- 8. Yoan Tanga
Replacements:
- 16. Sacha Idoumi
- 17. Joel Sclavi
- 18. Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel
- 19. Ultan Dillane
- 20. Rémi Picquette
- 21. Judicaël Cancoriet
- 22. Teddy Iribaren
- 23. Hugo Reus.
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU).
