A fortnight on from their hard-fought derby victory over Munster, GUINNESS PRO12 leaders Leinster will be hoping to make home advantage count again when they host Edinburgh at the RDS tonight.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, April 15
LEINSTER (1st) v EDINBURGH (7th), the RDS, 7.35pm (live TG4/BBC ALBA)
Team News: The fit-again Rob Kearney will start at full-back against Edinburgh having last featured for Leinster in the European Champions Cup pool match away to Wasps on January 23.
Luke Fitzgerald, who pulled up with an injury in the first half of the game against Connacht three weeks ago, starts on the left wing, with Fergus McFadden completing the back-three.
Ben Te’o and Noel Reid will start the round 20 fixture as Leinster’s centre pairing, with Luke McGrath and Ian Madigan selected as the starting half-backs.
There is a new front row with Cian Healy, Richardt Strauss and Mike Ross coming in for fellow Ireland internationals Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin and Tadhg Furlong, who all started in the derby win over Munster.
Academy lock Ross Molony starts in the second row with Mick Kearney, who will make his fifth appearance for the province. Rhys Ruddock captains Leinster from the back row alongside Josh van der Flier, who will make his twelfth start of the season, and Jordi Murphy who starts at number 8.
A win over Scotland’s capital club could keep Leinster at the top of the PRO12 table with just two rounds of the regular season to go after this weekend’s fixtures. Match tickets are on sale from €;20.
Meanwhile, there are two changes to the Edinburgh back-line, with Melrose Sevens-winning captain Chris Dean coming in at outside centre and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne moving up from the bench to take the scrum half berth.
Blair Kinghorn retains the full-back spot with Damien Hoyland and Tom Brown on the wings. Dean is partnered by Phil Burleigh at inside centre while Jason Tovey, who gave a man-of-the-match performance on his club debut against Zebre last time out, retains the number 10 jersey.
In the pack, the front row of Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford and WP Nel remains place, with Ford leading the side in the absence of the injured Mike Coman. The second row pairing of Anton Bresler and Ben Toolis is retained with Cornell du Preez again pulling on the number 8 jersey.
John Hardie returns from injury at openside flanker and Jamie Ritchie is on the blindside. Ritchie, along with replacement Magnus Bradbury, will be returning to the ground where they made their professional debuts last season. That match also saw a first cap for hooker George Turner – albeit he debuted on the wing – and Heriot’s club captain, Jack Turley, who started at lock.
LEINSTER: Rob Kearney; Fergus McFadden, Ben Te’o, Noel Reid, Luke Fitzgerald; Ian Madigan, Luke McGrath; Cian Healy, Richardt Strauss, Mike Ross, Ross Molony, Mick Kearney, Rhys Ruddock (capt), Josh van der Flier, Jordi Murphy.
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Peter Dooley, Tadhg Furlong, Devin Toner, Dominic Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Cathal Marsh, Dave Kearney.
EDINBURGH: Blair Kinghorn; Damien Hoyland, Chris Dean, Phil Burleigh, Tom Brown; Jason Tovey, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne; Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford (capt), WP Nel, Anton Bresler, Ben Toolis, Jamie Ritchie, John Hardie, Cornell du Preez.
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Rory Sutherland, John Andress, Alex Toolis, Magnus Bradbury, Hamish Watson, Sean Kennedy, Mike Allen.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Andy Brace, Leo Colgan (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Leinster to win: 1/4; Draw: 20/1; Edinburgh to win: 3/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Leo Cullen (Leinster) – “Hopefully we will have a big crowd again at the RDS. That support that we get is so important. I think that relationship with the support that we had that day (against Munster), hopefully we’ll continue to get that same level of support throughout the rest of the season.
“We have a squad that is very competitive now and it certainly makes picking the team very difficult. It’s a great luxury for us to have. It’s going to be tough on a lot of guys over the next couple of weeks because everyone wants to play in these big games.
“We’ve only three PRO12 games and what we hope is a semi-final after that. We’ve plenty to play for – the individuals have lots at stake, and collectively as a group we have plenty at stake as well. We all want to finish the season well. We’ve got ourselves in a good position but we want to push on now and try and finish out as well as we possibly can.
“Rob has been struggling for a couple of weeks, so it’s good we managed him back, probably very conservatively. He’s trained well, we’re looking forward to seeing him playing.
“I think we’re just trying to manage the squad as best as we possibly can. The reality is Johnny (Sexton) has been carrying a couple of niggles over the last couple of weeks. We’re trying to manage him as best as possible.
“Jamie (Heaslip) has had a very heavy workload this season. We still think we’ve got guys coming in there that can come in and acquit themselves well. We want to have that competitive environment. There were some tough calls.”
Alan Solomons (Edinburgh) – “Leinster top the table and playing them in Dublin will be a huge challenge. We are all excited about the game and of the challenge it presents.”
Top Scorers – 2015/16 GUINNESS PRO12: Leinster – Points: Isa Nacewa 78; Tries: Isa Nacewa 7; Edinburgh – Points: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 81; Tries: Damien Hoyland 8
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, January 4, 2013 – Edinburgh 16 Leinster 31, Murrayfield
Friday, December 20, 2013 – Edinburgh 11 Leinster 6, Murrayfield
Saturday, May 10, 2014 – Leinster 15 Edinburgh 13, the RDS
Friday, October 31, 2014 – Leinster 33 Edinburgh 8, the RDS
Saturday, May 16, 2015 – Edinburgh 23 Leinster 36, BT Murrayfield
Friday, September 4, 2015 – Edinburgh 16 Leinster 9, Meggetland
MATCH FACTS:
– Leinster are unbeaten in their last twelve home games in the GUINNESS PRO12 since their 16-14 reversal to the Newport Gwent Dragons at the RDS in February 2015
– The Leinstermen have not lost at home to Scottish opposition since Glasgow Warriors visited the RDS in September 2011
– Edinburgh’s only defeat in the last four rounds of the PRO12 was 28-23 at home to Connacht on March 4
– Edinburgh won their most recent away game, at the Dragons in round 18, but have not won successive fixtures on their travels for over 12 months
– Edinburgh were victorious 16-9 at Meggetland in round 1 and have only once before achieved a PRO12 season’s double over the Leinstermen (in 2003/04)
– Edinburgh’s most recent victory on Leinster soil came on a trip to Donnybrook in the PRO12 in November 2005
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