Hugh Cooney will make his first start for Leinster alongside the returning Robbie Henshaw in a strong Leinster line-up to take on the Lions at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (5.15pm, live on RTÉ2 and Premier Sports 2).
Cooney made his debut off the bench last weekend in the win over Connacht and is joined in the starting XV by fellow academy players Andrew Osborne and Gus McCarthy.
Henshaw will be making his first appearance of the season after recovering from injury in one of 10 changes to the starting line-up from the game in Galway.
Fresh off three impressive performances for Emerging Ireland in South Africa, Sam Prendergast has been handed the No 10 jersey where he will be partnered by Luke McGrath at scrumhalf.
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Hugo Keenan gets the nod at fullback once more as James Lowe returns to the starting team, with Osborne on the other wing.
McCarthy is joined in the frontrow by Michael Milne and Rabah Slimani, while Ryan Baird returns for his first start of the season alongside last week’s player of the match, RG Snyman.
Caelan Doris, who was named Irish captain for the upcoming autumn internationals, leads the team from number eight, while Max Deegan and Josh van der Flier offer support from the flanks.
Another of last week’s debutants keeps his place in the squad as first year academy hooker Stephen Smyth is named among the replacements once more. He will be supported by the experienced prop duo of Andrew Porter and Thomas Clarkson. Brian Deeny and James Culhane round out the forward cover.
Charlie Tector is set for his first appearance since returning from South Africa with Emerging Ireland. Ross Byrne will continue his run of being involved in every game so far this season if he is introduced to the action. On the other end of things, having played in the preseason friendly against Bordeaux-Begles, it will be a first competitive appearance of the season in blue for Cormac Foley if he comes off the bench tomorrow.
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Andrew Osborne; Hugh Cooney, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath; Michael Milne, Gus McCarthy, Rabah Slimani; RG Snyman, Ryan Baird; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Stephen Smyth, Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson, Brian Deeny, James Culhane, Cormac Foley, Ross Byrne, Charlie Tector.
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU).
Munster make four changes and two positional switches for the second game of their South African tour against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday (3pm Irish time, live on TG4 and Premier Sports 2).
Craig Casey, Rory Scannell, Stephen Archer and John Hodnett come into the starting XV, while John Ryan moves from tighthead prop to loosehead and Seán O’Brien moves from inside centre to the left wing.
Three Academy players are included among the replacements in props Kieran Ryan and Ronan Foxe, and backrow forward Ruadhán Quinn. Foxe is in line for his Munster debut. Diarmuid Barron is also included among the replacements after completing the return to play protocols.
On the injury front, Shane Daly (leg), Jeremy Loughman (knee) and Alex Nankivell (hip) were all unavailable.
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Rory Scannell, Seán O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; John Ryan, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Tom Ahern, John Hodnett, Jack O’Donoghue.
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Kieran Ryan, Ronan Foxe, Fineen Wycherley, Ruadhán Quinn, Ethan Coughlan, Billy Burns, Alex Kendellen.
Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins has made six changes to the starting line-up for Saturday’s meeting with the Dragons at Dexcom Stadium (7.35pm, live on TG4 and Premier Sports 1).
There’s three changes in the pack that started the Leinster game last week, with Peter Dooley and Dylan Tierney-Martin coming into the frontrow for their first starts of the season, while Niall Murray replaces his brother Darragh in the secondrow.
In the backs there’s a new halfback pairing of Caolin Blade and Jack Carty, while the final change sees Cathal Forde come in at outside centre alongside Bundee Aki.
Among the replacements are local duo of hooker Eoin de Buitléar and scrumhalf Matthew Devine, who will make their first appearances of the season if called upon.
Ahead of the match, Wilkins said: “This is another very important game in the context of our overall season. We were disappointed not to get anything from last week, but this Dragons encounter provides us with an opportunity to bounce back with a determined and high-energy performance.
“Dragons are a seriously competitive side – abrasive at the contact zone, a well-drilled forward pack, and a very smart kicking game – so it’s up to us to match them physically and then attempt to impose our game on them. If we continue to demonstrate the growth of recent weeks and perform to our potential, we can head into the URC break with a lot of positivity.”
CONNACHT: Piers O’Conor; Shayne Bolton, Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Santiago Cordero; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Peter Dooley, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Finlay Bealham; Joe Joyce, Niall Murray; Cian Prendergast (capt), Seán O’Brien, Paul Boyle.
Replacements: Eoin de Buitléar, Denis Buckley, Jack Aungier, Darragh Murray, Sean Jansen, Matthew Devine, Josh Ioane, Hugh Gavin.
Ulster head coach Richie Murphy has named his side to face Cardiff at the Arms Park on Saturday night (7.35pm, live on Premier Sports 2).
The team features five players who were named in the Ireland squad for next month’s Autumn Nations Series, with Iain Henderson, Tom O’Toole, Cormac Izuchukwu, Nick Timoney and Stuart McCloskey all starting before they head off for international duty next week.
ULSTER: Ethan McIlroy; Werner Kok, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Mike Lowry; Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak; Eric O’Sullivan, James McCormick, Tom O’Toole; Iain Henderson (capt), Kieran Treadwell; Cormac Izuchukwu, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Replacements: John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Scott Wilson, Harry Sheridan, Marcus Rea, John Cooney, Ben Carson, Ben Moxham.
