Leinster have welcomed back five British & Irish Lions for Saturday’s Vodacom URC match against the Sharks in Dublin.
Coach Leo Cullen has made eight changes to the starting XV, with Josh van der Flier set to captain the side for the first time.
Tadhg Furlong, Rónan Kelleher, James Lowe and Jamie Osborne also return, while Joshua Kenny could make his Leinster debut off the bench.
Van der Flier joins Alex Soroka and Max Deegan in the loose trio, with Brian Deeny and Ryan Baird retaining their places in the second row.
Furlong starts at tighthead for the first time this season, alongside Kelleher at hooker and Paddy McCarthy at loosehead.
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In the backline, Lowe and Osborne return, with Jimmy O’Brien shifting to the wing.
Robbie Henshaw moves to outside centre to partner Ciarán Frawley in midfield, while Fintan Gunne and Harry Byrne make their first starts of the campaign at scrumhalf and flyhalf respectively.
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On the bench, Thomas Clarkson’s inclusion brings the total number of Lions in the match 23 to six.
The defending champions began their campaign with defeats to the Stormers (35-0) and Bulls (39-31) in South Africa and will be eager to deliver a response on home soil.
LEINSTER – 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 James Lowe, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Josh van der Flier (c), 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Ryan Baird, 4 Brian Deeny, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Paddy McCarthy.
Bench: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 James Culhane, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Hugh Cooney, 23 Joshua Kenny.
Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images
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Leinster have welcomed back five British & Irish Lions for Saturday’s Vodacom URC match against the Sharks in Dublin.
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