Two changes for Munster; one for Leinster ahead of European clashes
Munster and Leinster have announced their teams for their Champions Cup clashes this weekend.
Munster have made two changes to the starting XV as they head to Welford Road for their second battle with Leicester Tigers on Sunday.
Hooker Kevin O’Byrne gets his first European start as he and winger Darren Sweetnam move up from the bench.
They step in as Andrew Conway and Rhys Marshall continue to follow return to play protocols.
Keith Earls and Niall Scannell return to the match-day 23 after respective hamstring and thumb injuries.
Leicester will be looking for revenge following Munster’s bonus-point 33-10 win at home last weekend.
The match kicks off at 5.30pm on Sunday, December 17.
15. Simon Zebo
14. Darren Sweetnam
13. Sammy Arnold
12. Rory Scannell
11. Alex Wootton
10. Ian Keatley
9. Conor Murray
1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Kevin O’Byrne
3. Stephen Archer
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Billy Holland
6. Peter O’Mahony (C)
7. Chris Cloete
8. CJ Stander
16. Niall Scannell
17. Brian Scott
18. John Ryan
19. Darren O’Shea
20. Jack O’Donoghue
21. Duncan Williams
22. JJ Hanrahan
23. Keith Earls
Here are the 23 Munster men that will face the Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup at Welford Road on Sunday (5.30pm).#SUAF #LEIvMUN pic.twitter.com/9PbyC0PAOF
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) December 15, 2017
Meanwhile, Leinster have made just one change to their starting XV with Josh van der Flier coming in for the injured Rhys Ruddock against the Exeter Chiefs.
Leinster take on the English champions at home in the Aviva on Saturday following their hard-fought 18-8 win over the Chiefs.
Rhys Ruddock was ruled out earlier in the week with a hamstring injury.
With van der Flier coming in as a replacement, this means a swap to the blind side for Seán O’Brien as van der Flier takes the number seven jersey.
Despite some concern early in the week over a quad injury, Johnny Sexton starts at ten partnered with Luke McGrath.
There are two changes on the bench with Andrew Porter in line to make his Champions Cup debut while Dan Leavy shakes off a hamstring injury to be included in the match-day 23.
15. Rob Kearney
14. Fergus McFadden
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Isa Nacewa (c)
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Luke McGrath
1. Cian Healy
2. Seán Cronin
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Devin Toner
5. Scott Fardy
6. Seán O’Brien
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jack Conan
16. James Tracy
17. Jack McGrath
18. Andrew Porter
19. James Ryan
20. Dan Leavy
21. Jamison Gibson-Park
22. Ross Byrne
23. Jordan Larmour
WATCH: Here is your #LeinsterRugby team to face @ExeterChiefs tomorrow at @AVIVAStadium!#JoinTheRoar and get your tickets from €25/10: https://t.co/2HMfhJwc0e pic.twitter.com/pZXfWzxuAR
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) December 15, 2017
Tickets for the Leinster v Exeter match are available at Ticketmaster. The match kicks-off at 3.15pm on Saturday, December 16.
