O’Shea To Lead Leinster ‘A’ Out West
In preparation for next week’s British & Irish Cup quarter-final away to Rotherham Titans, Leinster ‘A’ will face Connacht Eagles in an interprovincial friendly at the Sportsground on Wednesday (kick-off 4pm).
Clontarf centre Colm O’Shea will captain a youthful Leinster ‘A’ team against Connacht Eagles in Galway. Steve Crosbie will line up with O’Shea in midfield.
Garry Ringrose, featuring in just his second game for Leinster ‘A’, will start on the left wing. It is an all-UCD back-three with Billy Dardis at full-back and Sam Coghlan Murray on the right wing.
Joey Carbery has been named to make his first appearance for the ‘A’ team at out-half with Charlie Rock set to start at scrum half.
Clontarf’s Ian Hirst, a nominee for the Ulster Bank League Division 1A Player of the Year award last season, has been selected to start at loosehead prop, with James Tracy and Oisin Heffernan named alongside him in the front row.
Tadhg Beirne and Gavin Thornbury have been paired together in the second row, while Jordan Coghlan and Nick Timoney (pictured above) will flank number 8 Peadar Timmins to complete the starting pack.
LEINSTER ‘A’ (v Connacht Eagles): Billy Dardis; Sam Coghlan Murray, Colm O’Shea (capt), Steve Crosbie, Garry Ringrose; Joe Carbery, Charlie Rock; Ian Hirst, James Tracy, Oisin Heffernan, Tadhg Beirne, Gavin Thornbury, Jordan Coghlan, Nick Timoney, Peadar Timmins.
Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Maks van Dyk, Jeremy Loughman, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Nick McCarthy, Harrison Brewer, Adam Byrne.