Leinster ‘A’ Team Named For Final Pool Game
Having already secured a place in the British & Irish Cup quarter-finals, Leinster ‘A’ take on Plymouth Albion at Donnybrook on Saturday (kick-off 2pm) in the hopes of claiming a home tie in the next round.
For that to happen results elsewhere will have to go the way of the Leinster ‘A’ team, so the focus will be on finishing their pool with a strong performance which might be enough to see them return to Donnybrook for the knockout stages.
In their two games at Donnybrook so far in this season’s British & Irish Cup, Girvan Dempsey’s youngsters have racked up 93 points and 12 tries. Three of those 12 tries have been scored by Cian Kelleher, who starts on the wing in a back-three that also features Billy Dardis at full-back and Sam Coghlan Murray.
Steve Crosbie will start at inside centre alongside Garry Ringrose, who makes his first appearance for Leinster ‘A’ since joining the Academy during the summer. Ringrose was a regular feature in the Ireland Under-20 side that finished fourth in the summer’s Junior World Championship and was also a nominee for the Junior World Player of the Year award.
Luke McGrath will start at scrum half and captain the ‘A’ side, with Cathal Marsh completing the half-back pairing.
In the back row, Peadar Timmins comes in at number 8 with Jordan Coghlan moving to the blindside flank with Josh van der Flier on the other side of the scrum.
Ben Marshall moves from the back row into the second row alongside Ross Molony. There are two changes to the front row, with Aaron Dundon and Royce Burke-Flynn (pictured below) coming in to replace James Tracy and Oisin Heffernan respectively.
On the bench, Nicolaas ‘Maks’ van Dyk is in line to make his first appearance since joining Leinster on loan from South African Super Rugby side the Cheetahs this week, and Charlie Rock – the Leinster Under-20 captain and skipper of the Blackrock team that won the 2013 Leinster Schools Senior Cup – is named in an ‘A’ team for the first time on the bench.
Saturday’s British & Irish Cup match kicks off at 2pm, so there is plenty of time to take in the game before heading to the Aviva Stadium for the Champions Cup showdown between Leinster and Harlequins. Tickets for the ‘A’ game are available at the gate.
LEINSTER ‘A’ (v Plymouth Albion): Billy Dardis; Cian Kelleher, Garry Ringrose, Steve Crosbie, Sam Coghlan Murray; Cathal Marsh, Luke McGrath (capt); Peter Dooley, Aaron Dundon, Royce Burke-Flynn, Ben Marshall, Ross Molony, Jordan Coghlan, Josh van der Flier, Peadar Timmins.
Replacements: James Tracy, Nicolaas ‘Maks’ van Dyk, Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, Charlie Rock, Tom Farrell, Adam Byrne.