While the versatile Skerries native won’t feature due to a foot injury that led to his half-time withdrawal in Parma six days ago, 14 of his test colleagues are included in Cullen’s impressively assembled 23.

Full-back Jordan Larmour is one of five players in Leinster’s first 15 to have also started for Ireland in their Championship clincher against Scotland earlier this month, while Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Caelan Doris and Jamison Gibson-Park are listed amongst the replacements on the back of strong performances during the spring international window.

“It is the biggest challenge [developing cohesion]. You have two proper training sessions ultimately for a Friday game. There is only so much you can do,” Cullen stated at a pre-match press conference at the RDS.

“For us as coaches, it’s trying to get the balance right. You can’t bombard them with information. It’s trying to get that sweet spot always – it’s enough information, what is the correct amount to give.”

That said, with a Bulls side spearheaded by former Springboks head coach Jake White deploying a style of play that he is readily familiar with, Cullen isn’t expecting too many surprises on home soil.

“The Bulls have a sort of a blueprint of how they like to do things. It’s in their DNA from a long, long way back now and it’s brought them a hell of a lot of success over the years. If I’m talking about the Bulls, my mind goes back to playing in Pretoria where you’d Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez.

“Some of the great players that they would have had there. Their game is based on forward power and physical dominance. It hasn’t steered a million miles away from that to what they currently produce.

“If you look at their back line now in terms of some of the outside backs they have and the pace that they have, a number of whom played in the World Cup final not so long ago.

“Willie Le Roux and Canan Moodie obviously played at the World Cup, Kurt-Lee Arendse as well.”

In addition to selecting a strong squad to take on a Bulls outfit that is also stacked with experience – former Ulster star Marcell Coetzee captains their team from the back-row – Cullen is also looking to bring his players up to speed ahead of next week’s Champions Cup Round of 16 showdown with Leicester Tigers at the Aviva Stadium.

However, there are a handful of internationals who will be marked absent on the field of play in Ballsbridge.

As well as the aforementioned Frawley, Garry Ringrose and Andrew Porter are currently nursing minor niggles that will be assessed in advance of the Leicester game.

Meanwhile, Hugo Keenan is also unavailable as a result of the hip problem that ruled him out of Ireland’s Six Nations finale against Scotland at the 11th hour.

There is also a possibility that he will have regained fitness in time to face Leicester, but James Ryan is set for an extended spell on the treatment table with the arm injury he picked up in Ireland training ahead of their Championship defeat to England in Twickenham on March 9.

LEINSTER: J Larmour; R Russell, R Henshaw, J Osborne, J Lowe; H Byrne, L McGrath; C Healy, R Kelleher, M Ala’alatoa; R Molony, J McCarthy; R Baird, J van der Flier, J Conan.

Replacements: D Sheehan, M Milne, T Furlong, J Jenkins, C Doris, J Gibson-Park, R Byrne, L Turner.

BULLS: W Le Roux; K-L Arendse, C Moodie, D Kriel, D Williams; J Goosen, E Papier; G Steenekamp, A van der Merwe, W Louw; R Vermaak, R Nortje; M van Staden, E Louw, M Coetzee.

Replacements: J Grobbelaar, S Matanzima, M Smith, R Ludwig, M Gumede, Z Burger, C Smith, H Vorster.