BRIAN O’DRISCOLL DROPS to the bench as Leinster look to guarantee a home Pro12 semi-final with a win against the Ospreys tomorrow night.
At the end of a week in which he was selected for his fourth Lions Tour, O’Driscoll has been given a “breather” by the province for their final regular season game.
Of the six players named by Warren Gatland this week, only Rob Kearney, Jonny Sexton and Sean O’Brien start in the RDS. Jamie Heaslip is rested after picking up a knock in the Amlin semi-final win against Biarritz while prop Cian Healy joins O’Driscoll among the replacements.
Andrew Conway starts on the wing while Fergus McFadden moves inside to join Ian Madigan in midfield. Gordon D’Arcy, who is recovering from a calf strain, is said to be making good progress and is expected to be back in contention for the semi-finals next weekend.
Leinster are currently second in the Pro12 standings, three points behind Ulster, but could leapfrog their northern rivals if results go their way tomorrow night.
Ospreys know that they need a bonus-point win of their own to have any chance of pipping the Scarlets into the fourth and final play-off place, and head coach Steve Tandy is determined that his side will not go down without a fight.
“We know that we’re up against it if we are going to reach the play-offs but we definitely won’t be throwing the towel in. This team isn’t about that, it’s about playing for the cause and giving everything.
“The boys were hurting badly in the dressing room in Glasgow and are desperate to not go out with a whimper. We still have a chance of progressing so Friday night will be about giving it everything. If we can put in the kind of performance that’s needed then we’ll have to wait and see what happens elsewhere.”
Leinster: Rob Kearney; Andrew Conway, Fergus McFadden, Ian Madigan, Isa Nacewa; Jonathan Sexton, Isaac Boss; Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Jamie Hagan; Leo Cullen (c), Quinn Roux; Rhys Ruddock, Shane Jennings, Sean O’Brien. Replacements: Richardt Strauss, Cian Healy, Michael Bent, Devin Toner, Dominic Ryan, John Cooney, Andrew Goodman, Brian O’Driscoll.
Ospreys: Richard Fussell; Tom Habberfield, Ashley Beck, Ben John, Ross Jones; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb; Duncan Jones, Scott Baldwin, Adam Jones; Alun Wyn Jones (c), James King; Justin Tipuric, Sam Lewis, Joe Bearman. Replacements: Dmitri Arhip, Ryan Bevington, Cai Griffiths, Ian Evans, Morgan Allen, Matthew Morgan, Tom Isaacs, Jonathan Spratt.
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Ulster coach Mark Anscombe has made five changes for the visit of Cardiff Blues to Ravenhill tomorrow evening.
With their place in the semi-finals already booked and the chance to seal top spot and home advantage, Ulster welcome Johann Muller, John Afoa and Iain Henderson back into the starting XV.
Callum Black is preferred to Tom Court in the front row while Paul Marshall gets the nod at scrum-half with Ruan Pienaar shifting to 10 and Paddy Jackson dropping to the bench.
Ulster have won their last three matches in the competition and have lost just one Pro12 game at Ravenhill all season, a 16-12 defeat to to the Ospreys in February.
Ulster: Jared Payne; Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Stuart Olding, Tommy Bowe; Ruan Pienaar, Paul Marshall; Callum Black, Rory Best, John Afoa; Johann Muller, Iain Henderson; Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Nick Williams. Replacements: Nigel Brady, Tom Court, Declan Fitzpatrick, Dan Tuohy, Sean Doyle, Paddy Jackson, Mike Allen, Peter Nelson.
Cardiff Blues: Dan Fish; Alex Cuthbert, Gavin Evans (c), Dafydd Hewitt, Harry Robinson; Rhys Patchell, Lewis Jones; Taufa’ao Filise, Kristian Dacey, Scott Andrews; Bradley Davies, Lou Reed; Luke Hamilton, Josh Navidi, Michael Paterson. Replacements: Marc Breeze, Thomas Davies, Campese Ma’afu, Teofilo Paulo, Macauley Cook, Liam Davies, Ceri Sweeney, Tom James.
