RHYS RUDDOCK WILL captain Leinster once again while Ross Molony wins cap number 100 and Michael Milne makes his first start, as Leo Cullen’s side face Ospreys across the water tomorrow in Pro14 action [KO 3pm, live on TG4 and Premier Sport].
Ruddock captains the eastern province for the third game in-a-row, and comes up against his father, Mike, in Wales, who is Osprey’s development director.
Molony becomes a Leinster centurion at the Liberty Stadium, starting at lock, with Dan Leavy again named on the bench having recently made his return 19 months after a horrific knee injury.
Cullen restores his faith in the backs, with the back three remaining the same. Jimmy O’Brien lines out at at full back, with Cian Kelleher on the right and Dave Kearney on the left. Tommy O’Brien and Rory O’Loughlin again form the half-back partnership with Luke McGrath and Harry Byrne at scrum-half and out-half respectively.
In the pack, Milne makes his first-ever start for the senior side after 11 games on the bench. The 21-year-old Birr loosehead prop, who is still in the Leinster Academy and having his debut in September 2019, joins James Tracy and Michael Bent in the front row, while Scott Fardy joins Molony in the second.
Meanwhile, Josh Murphy, Scott Penny and skipper Ruddock complete the pack.
Ospreys have also named their team, and you can see it in the tweet below.
LEINSTER TEAM (with caps in brackets)
15. Jimmy O’Brien (21)
14. Cian Kelleher (16)
13. Rory O’Loughlin (72)
12. Tommy O’Brien (6)
11. Dave Kearney (151)
10. Harry Byrne (13)
9. Luke McGrath (131)
1. Michael Milne (11)
2. James Tracy (113)
3. Michael Bent (144)
4. Ross Molony (99)
5. Scott Fardy (64)
6. Josh Murphy (35)
7. Scott Penny (16)
8. Rhys Ruddock (177) — captain
Replacements
16. Dan Sheehan (2)
17. Peter Dooley (78)
18. Ciarán Parker (1)
19. Devin Toner (251)
20. Dan Leavy (65)
21. Hugh O’Sullivan (22)
22. David Hawkshaw (1)
23. Liam Turner (1).
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT
— Ospreys (@ospreys) November 7, 2020
Here is your Ospreys team to face @leinsterrugby at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the @PRO14Official, K.O 3pm#OspreysOnTheHunt pic.twitter.com/bp2e96bXRO
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