The Leinster Rugby team to take on DHL Stormers in the BKT United Rugby Championship semi-finals at Aviva Stadium on Saturday has been named by Head Coach Leo Cullen.
There are three changes to the starting XV from last Saturday’s 59-10 quarter-final win over the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions. Rónan Kelleher comes in at hooker with Andrew Porter and Thomas Clarkson on either side, while Joe McCarthy and James Ryan continue in the second row.
Josh van der Flier moves into the starting XV, with Caelan Doris captaining the side from number eight once more and Max Deegan on the other flank. Jamison Gibson-Park returns to the starting line-up with Sam Prendergast his half-back partner, while Jamie Osborne is paired with Rieko Ioane in the centre once more.
Hugo Keenan is named at full-back with James Lowe and Jimmy O’Brien on the wings once again in an unchanged back three.
Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Rabah Slimani and Diarmuid Mangan are named on the bench once more, with Jack Conan the only change to the forward reinforcements, while Garry Ringrose comes into the matchday 23 alongside Luke McGrath and Harry Byrne.
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter. Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Garry Ringrose.