KIWI UTILITY BACK Andrew Goodman will make his Leinster debut against the Ospreys this weekend.
But there is no place in Joe Schmidt’s 23 for Goodman’s fellow New Zealander Michael Bent, despite speculation that the Irish-eligible prop could play some part in Sunday’s trip to the Liberty Stadium.
With his star men away on international duty ahead of Ireland’s November Series tests, Schmidt makes wholesale changes to the side which ran in nine tries on their return to the RaboDirect Pro12 against the Cardiff Blues last weekend.
David Kearney, Ian Madigan and Devin Toner are the only three to remain with Kearney dropping into the full-back slot while Madigan shifts forward to join Isaac Boss in the half-back line.
Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy is without nine of his own internationals and hands Matthew Dwyer his first start at hooker.
The Welsh side are currently sixth in the Pro12 table with four wins from seven games, but can bridge the three-point gap and leapfrog Leinster with a win on Sunday afternoon.
Ospreys: Richard Fussell; Hanno Dirksen, Tom Isaacs, Andrew Bishop, Eli Walker; Matthew Morgan, Rhys Webb; Duncan Jones, Matthew Dwyer, Joe Rees; Lloyd Peers, Jonathan Thomas (c); George Stowers, Sam Lewis, Joe Bearman. Replacements: Arthur Ellis, Marc Thomas, Daniel Suter, James King, Morgan Allen, Kahn Fotuali’i, Jonathan Spratt, Ross Jones.
Leinster: David Kearney; Andrew Conway, Brendan Macken, Andrew Goodman, Fionn Carr; Ian Madigan, Isaac Boss; Heinke van der Merwe, Thomas Sexton, Jamie Hagan; Damian Browne, Devin Toner; Rhys Ruddock, Shane Jennings (c), Leo Auva’a. Replacements: James Tracy, Jack McGrath, Martin Moore, Ben Marshall, Jordi Murphy, John Cooney, Noel Reid, Sam Coghlan-Murray.
