LEO CULLEN HAS made 12 changes to his side for tomorrow’s crunch Guinness Pro12 meeting with Ulster at a sold-out RDS.
As expected, the Leinster head coach has restored his internationals after player managements protocols denied him their availability for the St Stephen’s Day trip to Thomond Park.
Isa Nacewa, Ross Byrne and Rory O’Loughlin are the only players retained from the defeat to Munster with Adam Byrne, Garry Ringrose, Noel Reid and Luke McGrath all coming into the backline.
There is, however, no sign of Johnny Sexton in the matchday panel despite the province previously earmarking this fixture as a potential return date for the out-half.
Cullen can call upon his big guns up front for the visit of the northern province with Jamie Heaslip, Josh van der Flier and Sean O’Brien returning to make-up a powerful back row.
Leinster have now lost two of their last three outings in the Pro12 and have slipped down to third position in the standings, five points behind leaders Munster and three off second-place Ospreys.
Saturday’s game at the RDS is now a sell-out with Leinster announcing that 18,200 tickets have been sold.
Source: Leinster Rugby TV/YouTube
Leinster:
15. Isa Nacewa (captain)
14. Adam Byrne
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Noel Reid
11. Rory O’Loughlin
10. Ross Byrne
9. Luke McGrath
1. Jack McGrath
2. Sean Cronin
3. Michael Bent
4. Devin Toner
5. Hayden Triggs
6. Sean O’Brien
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jamie Heaslip
Replacements:
16. Richardt Strauss
17. Andrew Porter
18. Jeremy Loughman
19. Mick Kearney
20. Jack Conan
21. Jamison Gibson-Park
22. Tom Daly
23. Zane Kirchner
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