LEO CULLEN HAS welcomed back a number of his Lions contingent for Leinster’s URC meeting with the Sharks [KO 5.30pm, Premier Sports/URC TV] at Aviva Stadium tomorrow.
The game is Leinster’s first home fixture of the new campaign following defeats to the Stormers and Bulls in South Africa across the opening two weekends.
Cullen has made eight changes to his starting XV, with five Lions players among the fresh faces, including Josh van der Flier, who captains the province for the first time.
🏡 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚
⚡ Here is your Leinster team to face @SharksRugby in our first home game of the @URCOfficial season.
Tadhg Furlong, Rónan Kelleher, James Lowe and Jamie Osborne are also included for their first appearances of the season after being part of Andy Farrell’s touring squad in Australia.
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Osborne starts at fullback, with Lowe and Jimmy O’Brien on the wings.
In the centre positions, Robbie Henshaw moves to 13 as Ciarán Frawley starts at 12.
A new half-back pairing sees Fintan Gunne and Harry Byrne named at scrum-half and out-half respectively.
Up front, Paddy McCarthy continues at loosehead as Furlong and Kelleher come into the front row.
Brian Deeny and Ryan Baird start in the second row for the second week running, while Van der Flier captains the team from the back row, alongside Alex Soroka and Max Deegan.
On the Leinster bench, Thomas Clarkson, Gus McCarthy and Jack Boyle provide the front row cover, with Diarmuid Mangan and James Culhane also among the replacements.
The back line cover consists of Luke McGrath, Hugh Cooney and Joshua Kenny, who is in line for his debut.
Kenny, 22, previously represented Ireland in Sevens and was part of Leinster’s squad for the two-game trip to South Africa, having featured in the pre-season meeting with Cardiff.
Kenny started his rugby journey with Greystones RFC before attending Presentation College, Bray and currently plays in the Energia AIL with Terenure College RFC.
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Van der Flier captains Leinster for first time as Lions return for Sharks clash
LEO CULLEN HAS welcomed back a number of his Lions contingent for Leinster’s URC meeting with the Sharks [KO 5.30pm, Premier Sports/URC TV] at Aviva Stadium tomorrow.
The game is Leinster’s first home fixture of the new campaign following defeats to the Stormers and Bulls in South Africa across the opening two weekends.
Cullen has made eight changes to his starting XV, with five Lions players among the fresh faces, including Josh van der Flier, who captains the province for the first time.
Tadhg Furlong, Rónan Kelleher, James Lowe and Jamie Osborne are also included for their first appearances of the season after being part of Andy Farrell’s touring squad in Australia.
Osborne starts at fullback, with Lowe and Jimmy O’Brien on the wings.
In the centre positions, Robbie Henshaw moves to 13 as Ciarán Frawley starts at 12.
A new half-back pairing sees Fintan Gunne and Harry Byrne named at scrum-half and out-half respectively.
Up front, Paddy McCarthy continues at loosehead as Furlong and Kelleher come into the front row.
Brian Deeny and Ryan Baird start in the second row for the second week running, while Van der Flier captains the team from the back row, alongside Alex Soroka and Max Deegan.
On the Leinster bench, Thomas Clarkson, Gus McCarthy and Jack Boyle provide the front row cover, with Diarmuid Mangan and James Culhane also among the replacements.
The back line cover consists of Luke McGrath, Hugh Cooney and Joshua Kenny, who is in line for his debut.
Kenny, 22, previously represented Ireland in Sevens and was part of Leinster’s squad for the two-game trip to South Africa, having featured in the pre-season meeting with Cardiff.
Kenny started his rugby journey with Greystones RFC before attending Presentation College, Bray and currently plays in the Energia AIL with Terenure College RFC.
Leinster:
Replacements:
Sharks:
Replacements:
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
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Leinster round three Rugby Team news URC