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Jamie Heaslip is retained and will captain the side from the back row. ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
dirty dozen

Shuffling the pack: Leinster make 12 changes for Edinburgh visit

Joe Schmidt will give many of his front-liners a well deserved rest in the Pro12 tomorrow night.

LEINSTER COACH JOE Schmidt has made 12 changes from the side which routed the Cardiff Blues 34-3 in Saturday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final.

Only Jamie Heaslip, Isa Nacewa and Gordon D’Arcy will continue in the starting line-up when Edinburgh provide the opposition in the RDS tomorrow night.

Michael Bradley’s side will not be short of confidence, having themselves made it to the final four in Europe by putting Toulouse to the sword.

Heaslip will captain the side which will be backed up by an inexperienced bench. Leading lights such as, Brian O’Driscoll, Rob Kearney and Brad Thorn have been taken out of the firing line.

Outside centre, Eoin O’Malley, has also been omitted from the match-day 23, despite the province confirming this week that he had recovered from the calf problem which ruled him out for the past fortnight.

Fergus McFadden will instead fill the number 13 jersey and will take responsibility of goal-kicking away from fly-half Ian Madigan.

Bradley, meanwhile, has made just five changes to the team which felled Toulouse in Murrayfield.

Leinster: Nacewa; D Kearney, Mcfadden, D’Arcy, Carr; Madigan, Boss: Van Der Merwe, Cronin, White; Browne, Toner; Ruddock, Jennings, Heaslip (capt.).

Replacements: Strauss, McGrath, Moore, McLaughlin, Auva’a, Reddan, Reid, Macken.

Edinburgh: Brown; Jones, De Luca, Scott, T Visser; Laidlaw (capt.) Leck: Traynor, Ford, Cross; Lozada, Cox; McInally, Grant, Talei.

Replacements: Kelly, Hislop, Gliding, Gilchrist, Denton, Rennie, Godman, Thompson

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