Leinster coach Michael Cheika has named his strongest available side for Saturday's Heineken Cup clash with Toulouse in Le Stadium Municipal, a game in which centre Gordon D'Arcy will make his 100th appearance for the province.
The British and Irish Lion becomes the seventh player to reach the landmark after Shane Byrne, Victor Costello, Reggie Corrigan, Brian O'Meara, Girvan Dempsey and Denis Hickie all topped the ton.
"My first match was against Edinburgh in 1998 and I came on as a replacement for Denis (Hickie) and managed to score a try," D'Arcy reflects.
"You have to remember that at that time I was just out of school around eight or nine weeks. So there was no talk of contracts or anything like that. I was invited by Mike Ruddock to come in and train and at no stage did I ever think that I'd make it to 100 caps for Leinster."
D'Arcy admits he struggled with his game during his early days as a professional. "I didn't enjoy the pressure and the intensity but I've grown more comfortable with the demands of professional rugby and I really enjoy all the games now."
The Dubliner is now relishing the trip to Toulouse and says although he spent time away from the Leinster camp when on Six Nations duty, not once did he take his eye off the province's crucial game.
"We know that anything can happen in sport," he says. "Look at what Arsenal have achieved recently when you consider how they were written off against the so-called 'Galacticos' of Real Madrid. They believed in themselves and beat them and again proved their doubters wrong against Juventus earlier this week. That's something we can take heart from."
In the pack Reggie Corrigan partners Ireland 'A' hooker Brian Blaney and Will Green while Keith Gleeson will form a lively and aggressive backrow alongside Cameron Jowitt and Jamie Heaslip.
LEINSTER: Girvan Dempsey; Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll (c), Gordon D'Arcy, Denis Hickie; Felipe Contepomi, Guy Easterby; Reggie Corrigan, Brian Blaney, Will Green; Bryce Williams, Malcolm O'Kelly; Cameron Jowitt, Keith Gleeson, Jamie Heaslip. Replacements: David Blaney, Ronan McCormack, Niall Ronan, Eric Miller, Brian O'Riordan, Kieran Lewis, Rob Kearney.
