Rugby

Leinster rest majority of Irish internationals for trip to South Africa

Only Rónan Kelleher and Andrew Porter set to tour as Rhys Ruddock is named captain

Andrew Porter and Rónan Kelleher are the only Ireland Six Nations squad members set to travel to South Africa. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho

Mon Apr 18 2022 - 16:03

Leinster have opted to rest the majority of their Irish internationals in their squad that travels to South Africa for a two-week URC mini-tour. In the 31-man travelling party named by Leo Cullen, only Rónan Kelleher and Andrew Porter feature from Ireland’s Six Nations squad. Both returned last weekend after having missed time through injury.

Rhys Ruddock captains the group that will face the Sharks in Durban this Saturday followed the Stormers in Cape Town a week later. Leo Cullen’s side is currently ten points clear at the top of the standings with three fixtures remaining. One win out of those three games would all but guarantee the province top seeding in the knockout stages.

The decision to rest a number of big games is no doubt with one eye on an away Champions Cup quarter-final on the weekend of May 6th to Leicester. It also gives more time to the likes of James Ryan and Ryan Baird to reccover from the injuries that ruled them out of both legs against Connacht.

The Sharks are currently in sixth position with nine wins from 15 games in the URC, and they are a point behind the Stormers in fifth, also with nine wins from 15 games played.

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Leinster squad to travel to South Africa

Ed Byrne, Peter Dooley, Michael Milne, Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, John McKee, James Tracy, Vakh Abdaladze, Michael Ala’alatoa, Thomas Clarkson, Brian Deeny, Jack Dunne, Josh Murphy, Martin Moloney, Rhys Ruddock (capt), Seán O’Brien, Scott Penny, Max Deegan, Alex Soroka, Cormac Foley, Nick McCarthy, Harry Byrne, David Hawkshaw, Tommy O’Brien, Rob Russell, Ciarán Frawley, Rory O’Loughlin, Jamie Osborne, Adam Byrne, Chris Cosgrave, Max O’Reilly.