Celtic League – Hunt for silverware continues

The hunt for silverware continues this weekend as Leinster and Munster strive to keep the pressure up on Ulster.

Leinster and Munster are in action this weekend and will be chasing a potential double if they can catch leaders Ulster, who don’t play until April 15th.

Ulster top the league with 52 points while Leinster are on 49 and Munster on 46, but with a game in hand.

The Leinster team to face the Border Reivers at Netherdale on Friday night (KO: 9pm) has been named.

Rob Kearney starts on the right wing in one of four changes to the side that won last weekend. In the pack, Ronan McCormack starts in a strong front row alongside Brian Blaney and Will Green, while Niall Ronan comes into the backrow after a series of impressive displays for the Leinster ‘A’ team recently.

LEINSTER:

15: Girvan Dempsey
14: Rob Kearney
13: Brian O’Driscoll CAPTAIN
12: Kieran Lewis
11: Denis Hickie
10: Felipe Contepomi
9: Guy Easterby

1: Ronan McCormack
2: Brian Blaney
3: Will Green
4: Bryce Williams
5: Malcolm O’Kelly
6: Niall Ronan
7: Keith Gleeson
8: Jamie Heaslip

Replacements from: Emmett Byrne, David Blaney, Cameron Jowitt, Eric Miller, Brian O’Riordan, Shane Horgan, John Hepworth, Gary Brown, Gordon D’Arcy

…Shaun Payne against Perpignan…

Meanwhile Munster have named a strong side for their game.

Munster will travel to Wales at the weekend for the Celtic League encounter with Newport-Gwent Dragons, with a side that shows just three changes from the one that started against Perpignan

Staying behind when the squad fly out from Shannon are Ronan O’Gara and Denis Leamy who picked up injuries in that game against Perpignan and Marcus Horan who suffered a calf injury in training on Tuesday.

In addition to that trio from the starting XV last weekend, Christian Cullen twinged a hamstring in training while Denis Fogarty sustained a hand injury ruling both of them out of the Dragons match.

Fogarty and Cullen are likely to be available for the Edinburgh game but Horan will not, management hoping to have the prop back in time for the Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Leinster.

Munster ( v Newport-Gwent Dragons). S Payne; J Kelly, T O’Leary, T Halstead, I Dowling; J Manning, P Stringer; F Pucciariello, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, P O’Connell; M O’Driscoll, D Wallace, A Foley capt.

Replacements: F Roche, E McGovern, S Keogh, J O’Sullivan, P Burke, M Mullins, R Henderson,