URC: Pace-setters Leinster look to continue unbeaten run against Dragons

Four Irish players to start game against Welsh side, who are 43 points behind them in the table

Daire Walsh

Pace-setters Leinster will look to continue their unbeaten run in the United Rugby Championship when they welcome 15th place Dragons to the RDS on Saturday evening (kick-off 7.35pm).

In addition to winning all four of their games in the European Champions Cup, Leinster have recorded 13 consecutive triumphs in the URC. This puts them 11 points clear of defending champions DHL Stormers with just five rounds of the regular season left to play.

All of 43 points separate them from Dragons in the league table with the Welsh region only having three victories to their name thus far in the current campaign. At the beginning of this week, Leinster were bolstered by the release of five players from the Ireland camp with the Six Nations Championship on a brief sabbatical.

Although Joe McCarthy is ruled out of contention with an ankle injury, the remaining quartet have all been included in Leo Cullen’s starting line-up for tonight’s game. Jimmy O’Brien and Jordan Larmour feature in the back-three, while the versatile Jamie Osborne is selected at inside centre.

Called up by Andy Farrell in advance of last week’s game against France, Michael Milne will hope a strong performance at loosehead prop can boost his chances of climbing up the international ladder. Despite the strong Leinster contingent that remains in the Ireland squad, Cullen is able to call upon plenty of experience elsewhere in his match day 23.

Joining O’Brien and Larmour in the back-three is Dave Kearney, who scored five tries across 19 senior international appearances in the past. The half-back pairing of Harry Byrne and Luke McGrath have also featured for Ireland in the test match arena as have the backrow duo of Rhys Ruddock and Max Deegan.

A regular fixture for Farrell’s men in the 2020 and 2021 Six Nations, Will Connors is hoping for another cameo role off the bench as he looks to leave his recent injury woes behind them.

The Dragons arrive in Dublin as one of the least affected teams when it comes to Six Nations call-ups with just four of their players currently in Warren Gatland’s Wales set-up for the Championship. 54-times international Ross Moriarty will bring plenty of steel from the base of their scrum, however, and there is also a spot for former Munster back and Kerry native JJ Hanrahan on the visiting team’s bench.

LEINSTER: J O’Brien; J Larmour, L Turner, J Osborne, D Kearney; H Byrne, L McGrath; M Milne, J McKee, M Ala’alatoa; R Molony, B Deeny; R Ruddock, S Penny, M Deegan.

Replacements: L Barron, J Boyle, T Clarkson, J Jenkins, W Connors, N McCarthy, C Tector, R Russell.

DRAGONS: A O’Brien; S Tomkinson, S Hughes, J Dixon, A Hewitt; W Reed, R Williams; R Jones, B Coghlan, L Fairbrother; M Screech, B Carter; B Fry, T Basham, R Moriarty.

Replacements: J Benjamin, A Seiuli, C Coleman, S Lonsdale, R Woodman, L Jones, JJ Hanrahan, J Williams.