Rugby:Leinster coach Joe Schmidt has announced a strong team, albeit without a number of first choice players for tomorrow night's RaboDirect Pro12 clash with Ulster at Ravenhill. Isa Nacewa, Gordon D'Arcy and Jamie Heaslip have been given the weekend off, as all three played in the 54-13 thumping of Edinburgh, last Friday.
Rob Kearney, Brian O’Driscoll and Luke Fitzgerald return to a backline that includes Dave Kearney and Fergus McFadden, the latter promoted to the starting team, following the late withdrawal of Eoin O’Malley with a recurrence of a calf strain. Jonathan Sexton and Eoin Reddan resume at halfback.
Leo Cullen takes over the captaincy from Heaslip. The pack is completely changed including a new backrow combination of Kevin McLaughlin, Dominic Ryan and Sean O’Brien at number eight. Leinster have named a strong bench that includes scrumhalf Isaac Boss, who if introduced, will win his 50th cap for the province.
Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin has made nine personnel changes and a further two positional switches to the team which lost 26-21 to Connacht last weekend, but there is no place for rested Ireland Internationals Stephen Ferris and Rory Best.
Willie Faloon, Nigel Brady, Lewis Stevenson, Tom Court, Stefan Terblanche and Paddy Jackson are the only survivors from the team which started in Galway. Jackson moves from inside centre to outhalf in place of Ian Humphreys, with Paddy Wallace occupying the vacated spot in midfield. Ruan Pienaar and Andrew Trimble also return to the starting backline.
Up front, Court is named in his more familiar loosehead prop position, after starting in the tighthead role at the Sportsground. Declan Fitzpatrick will wear the number three jersey after making a welcome return from a neck injury; his first taste of action in almost five months.
Johann Muller returns to captain the side from second row where he is partnered by Stevenson, while Pedrie Wannenburg and Chris Henry are recalled to the back row alongside Faloon. Ian Porter makes a return to the match day squad after fellow scrumhalf Paul Marshall ruled out with an elbow injury sustained against Connacht.
Ulster:S Terblanche; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar; T Court, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, J Muller (capt), L Stevenson, C Henry, W Faloon, P Wannenburg. Replacements: A Kyricaou, P McAllister, A Macklin, N McComb, R Diack, I Porter, I Humphreys, A D'Arcy.
Leinster:R Kearney; D Kearney, B O'Driscoll, F McFadden, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, R Strauss, M Ross; L Cullen (capt), B Thorn; K McLaughlin, D Ryan, S O'Brien. Replacements: S Cronin, H van der Merwe, N White, D Toner, S Jennings, I Boss, I Madigan, F Carr.
