In a sense Leinster are already under some pressure to perform against Northampton tonight at Donnybrook (7.30). Coaches Michael Cheika and David Knox may have had only one match together, last weekend, but Munster's defeat of the English team just seven days ago already puts a potential yardstick up to Leinster's state of readiness.

Cheika, who has yet to sign two more players for the season, may not accept that an early comparison is appropriate but others will, and the question will be put: if Munster can grind out a 20-18 win against Northampton in Thomond Park, should Leinster be able to match it in Dublin?

Again the home team will make a plethora of changes - Leinster have named 20 forwards and 14 backs in their squad.

Northampton have also named an extended bench with a view to chopping and changing.

Yet it's only a week before Leinster's first Celtic League match, and some semblance of a starting line-up should emerge.

"They (Northampton) are world-class opposition," said Cheika in his first press meeting on Wednesday. "Just by looking at the players, they might have seven, eight players capped and I think that is exactly what we need in order to get ourselves prepared for the Ospreys match.

"It's also a good escalation from Parma (whom Leinster beat 64-14) to this. As far as preparations are concerned, we still consider this as our pre-season and we are going to take the pre-season right up until the end of that match. The way we work the rotation of our players, the way we are preparing this week, is in full harmony with the programme we set out from the start."

Northampton should have a number of big names available, such as Ben Cohen and Carlos Spencer, with the former Leinster centre David Quinlan returning to the pitch on which he has played most of his top-class rugby. But Cheika has already set out his philosophy about how the game will be played.

"If there is anything, I suppose what we do is take the word structure out of a game and put in the word awareness," he said. "We know what is happening on the field but there is still that ability for the player to use his natural skill. That is why he is a professional footballer. It is not for me to say in his ear you do this, you do that. They are at the top of their game because they have ability and I want them to show that ability."

John Kelly comes into the Munster starting line-up for tonight's game in Welford Road (7.45) against a strong Leicester Tigers squad that includes Lions Graham Rowntree, Ben Kay and Martin Corry.

Kelly was not involved in Munster's game against Northampton, but his return is timely given the long-term Achilles injury to Mike Mullins, who was expected to go into a Cork hospital yesterday for surgery on the injury sustained last Friday.

Stephen Keogh once again captains the travelling side in an unchanged backrow while Frank Murphy takes over from Mike Prendergast at scrumhalf.

Shaun Payne, who was originally included in the travelling squad, has been forced to withdraw with a neck strain.

Leicester have named an unchanged starting line-up for what should be a fundamentally different team performance from the loss to a fired-up Connacht 17-22 in the Sportsgrounds last Friday. The presence - even on the replacements' bench - of the redoubtable Rowntree, Kay and Corry should firm up the backbone of the side.

Ulster's position for their friendly against Andre Bester's Rotherham is that they could do with a win before the real challenges present themselves in two weeks' time (they enter the fray on the second weekend of the Celtic League).

Having lost to London Irish at Ravenhill in front of 6,500 supporters, coach Mark McCall has has changed seven players and made one positional switch in the starting XV. Jonny Bell begins at 13 while Scott Young replaces Tyrone Howe on the wing, with Reece Spee coming in for Kieran Campbell at scrumhalf.

Rory Best replaces Paul Shields at hooker, and Declan Fitzpatrick comes in for Simon Best at prop.

Justin Harrison is joined in the secondrow by Ryan Caldwell, and Neil McMillen starts in the backrow. Captain Campbell Feather switches to number eight.

Bester has named four former Belfast Harlequins in his starting line-up. WP Strauss lines out at inside centre while Jarlath Carey, Neil Hanna and Louis McGowan start in the visitors' pack.

MUNSTER: B Martin; P Devlin, J Kelly, R Henderson, M Lawlor; P Burke, F Murphy; F Roche, J Flannery, T Buckley; AN Other, M O'Driscoll; J O'Sullivan, J O'Connor, S Keogh (capt). Replacements: (from) E McGovern, D Fogarty, P Pucciarello, AN Other, A Foley, M Prendergast, J Manning, I Dowling, T Halstead, B Touhy, B Murphy.

LEICESTER TIGERS: S Vesty; A Tuilagi, D Hipkiss, D Gibson (capt), T Varndell; A Goode, H Ellis; M Holford, G Chuter, A Moreno; J Hamilton, L Cullen; B Deacon, S Jennings, W Johnson. Replacements: (from) E Taukafa, G Rowntree, B Kay, L Abraham, M Corry, S Bemand, R Broadfoot, L Lloyd, A Healey.

ULSTER: B Cunningham; J Topping, J Bell, P Steinmetz, S Young; P Wallace, R Spee; B Young, R Best, D Fitzpatrick; R Caldwell, J Harrison; N Best, N McMillen, C Feather (capt).

ROTHERHAM: E Claasens; D Stretlle, L Blackett, WP Strauss, A Carter; M Whitehead, J Bedford; J Carey, N Hanna, A Pienaar; R Walton, L McGowan; H Fourie, N Cochrane, S Donald. Replacements: A Hopcroft, J Golding, G McComb, B Wade, M Kirkwood, G Mitchell, T Allen.

Fixtures: Leinster v Northampton, Donnybrook 7.30; Ulster v Rotherham, Ravenhill 7.30; Leicester v Munster, Welford Road 7.45.