Change is the order of the day for Leinster head coach Leo Cullen, who has chosen a completely new starting line-up for his side’s latest Guinness Pro12 encounter against Scarlets at the RDS this evening.

The Blues recorded a 27-3 victory away to Benetton Treviso last Sunday, but owing to the short turnaround ahead of their seventh competitive game of the campaign, Cullen has opted to make full use of the resources at his disposal.

A number of World Cup stars returned to provincial action in Italy, and it will be a similar scenario for a series of players tonight.

Rob Kearney, Zane Kirchner and Ian Madigan are all handed starts in the Leinster back-line, and they are joined by Mike Ross, Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip, who make their seasonal bows as part of an experienced pack.

A big performance will certainly be needed from the hosts in Ballsbridge, as Scarlets are the league’s current pacesetters with six wins from as many outings.

Indeed, they got the better of Leinster in Parc y Scarlets just three weeks ago, and as a result Cullen is acutely aware of the challenge that his side will face.

“I think one of the things is they’ve real solidity in their set-piece, that’s been a big feature of their early-season form. They’re very effective at the scrum in what they’re delivering,” Cullen remarked on Monday.

“One of the areas where they’ve had great strength this year has been the back row. James Davies has been man of the match in most games he’s played, John Barclay is there as well, a player who’s really experienced. Aaron Shingler too, who is a really good athlete, so that back row combination has been fairly effective.”

Alongside Kearney and Kirchner in the back-three, Cian Kelleher will make his first start at this level, with Garry Ringrose getting an opportunity to shine in his natural position of outside centre.

Following his try-scoring exploits in Llanelli, and a promising cameo in a recent home win over Glasgow, Kildare native James Tracy is also handed a first competitive start by Cullen at hooker, while Cian Healy and Devin Toner are included after featuring amongst the replacements in Treviso.

Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Luke McGrath and Ben Te’o provide strong reserve options, as does returning out-half Jonathan Sexton, who is expected to play his first game at the RDS since May 2013.

LEINSTER:

R Kearney, Z Kirchner, G Ringrose, N Reid, C Kelleher; I Madigan, I Boss; C Healy, J Tracy, M Ross; D Toner, T Denton; D Ryan, S O’Brien, J Heaslip.

Replacements:

B Byrne, J McGrath, M Moore, H Triggs, D Leavy, L McGrath, J Sexton, B Te’o.

SCARLETS:

A Thomas, T Williams, G Owen, H Parkes, M Tagicakibau; D Jones, G Davies; R Evans, E Phillips, P Edwards; J Ball, L Rawlins; A Shingler, J Davies, J Barclay.

Replacements:

K Owens, D Evans, W Taylor, T Price, M Paulino, A Davies, M Collins, H Robinson.