Gus McCarthy will lead a young Leinster squad tomorrow that contains the uncapped Connor Fahy at outside centre, and returning prop Peter Dooley on the bench.
The action at Matmut Stadium de Gerland will get underway at 8pm local time/7pm local time, and Dooley, following four seasons at Connacht, is set for his first run-out in blue since May 2022.
Fintan Gunne is the most experienced member of Leinster's starting back-line, pairing up at half-back with the promising Caspar Gabriel, a debutant against Zebre Parma last October.
21-year-old pair Fahy and Ciarán Mangan provide the midfield axis, and winger Joshua Kenny will be looking to continue where he left off after scoring 11 tries during his first senior season.
Alex Usanov, who played in June's BKT United Rugby Championship final win over the Vodacom Bulls, joins McCarthy and twice-capped tighthead Niall Smyth in the front row.
The presence of Conor O'Tighearnaigh (23), Josh Ericson (22), and James Culhane (23) in the remainder of the pack means the team that takes to the field will have an average age of just 22.
This is the first of two pre-season friendlies for Leo Cullen's men, who are building up for their eagerly-awaited return to the RDS - the renamed Laya Arena - when they play Zebre there on Saturday, September 12 (kick-off 2.30pm).
Tickets for the Bank of Ireland pre-season match against the Italian side are available to buy here. It is also an operational test event ahead of the redeveloped stadium's official opening in October.
The Leinster management have plenty of young talent on the bench to call upon against Lyon, including uncapped duo Charlie Molony and Jack Deegan, who both played for the Ireland Under-20s in the recent World Rugby Junior World Championship.
Two other players are poised to make their first senior appearances for Leinster - 21-year-old Academy prop Alex Mullan, and young Dublin University lock Artur Smykovskiy, who gained experience with the province's 'A' team last season.
LEINSTER (v Lyon OU): Hugo McLaughlin; Joshua Kenny, Connor Fahy, Ciarán Mangan, Andrew Osborne; Caspar Gabriel, Fintan Gunne; Alex Usanov, Gus McCarthy (capt), Niall Smyth, Conor O'Tighearnaigh, Brian Deeny, Alex Soroka, Josh Ericson, James Culhane.
Replacements (from): Stephen Smyth, Peter Dooley, Andrew Sparrow, Alex Mullan, Artur Smykovskiy, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Cormac Foley, Oliver Coffey, Jack Deegan, Ruben Moloney, Charlie Molony.
