Leinster and Ulster will go head-to-head at the RDS Arena on Saturday night at 8 pm in the first round of United Rugby Championship fixtures since the end of the Autumn international break.
Leinster will come into the game with their unbeaten record once again placed on the line as they look to strengthen their strong start to the season to six wins from six.
Ulster, on the other hand, are hoping to bounce back from a poor defeat to Connacht at the Aviva Stadium before action stopped for the Autumn Internationals.
However, Dan McFarland’s have not beaten the boys in blue since April 2019 and Leo Cullen and co. will aim to keep it that way.
Will Connors has returned for Leinster and will take his place on the bench after his knee injury.
Ireland internationals Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park and provincial and national Johnny Sexton are unavailable for selection.
Ulster captain Iain Henderson suffered a hamstring injury during the warm-up for Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series game against Argentina on Sunday and joins the injury list at the province.
Teams
Leinster
15. Jimmy O’Brien (36)
14. Adam Byrne (59)
13. Robbie Henshaw (57)
12. Ciarán Frawley (40)
11. Jordan Larmour (64)
10. Ross Byrne (108)
9. Luke McGrath (155) CAPTAIN
1. Ed Byrne (74)
2. James Tracy (131)
3. Tadhg Furlong (116)
4. Ross Molony (121)
5. Devin Toner (268)
6. Dan Leavy (75)
7. Scott Penny (30)
8. Rhys Ruddock (193)
Replacements:
16. Seán Cronin (196)
17. Peter Dooley (94)
18. Vakh Abdaladze (12)
19. Max Deegan (68)
20. Will Connors (23)
21. Nick McCarthy (38)
22. Harry Byrne (25)
23. Tommy O’Brien (10)
Ulster
(15-9) Mike Lowry, Craig Gilroy, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Ethan McIlroy, Billy Burns, John Cooney;
(1-8) Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor (Capt.), Sam Carter, Greg Jones, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane, Mick Kearney, Marcus Rea, Nathan Doak, Angus Curtis, Rob Lyttle.
Odds
Leinster 1/7
Draw 25/1
Ulster 9/2
Where To Watch
The game will be available to watch live on RTE 2, Premier Sports and URC TV.
