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Josh van der Flier returns in Leinster team to play Toulouse
By Ian Cameron
Ireland's back row Josh van der Flier is set to make a comeback from injury in the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final match between Leinster and Toulouse this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.
Van der Flier is battling back from an ankle injury but has been passed fit to start.
James Ryan has been named at skipper, while van der Flier is set to earn his 50th Champions Cup cap. The team also sees the return of Charlie Ngatai, who has been out of action since early January, and is paired with Garry Ringrose in the centre.
Hugo Keenan has been named the full-back, while Jordan Larmour and Jimmy O’Brien are set to play on the wings. The front five remains unchanged from their quarter-final win against the Leicester Tigers, with Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, and Tadhg Furlong forming the front row, while Ross Molony and James Ryan have been picked for the second row.
Caelan Doris, Jack Conan, and van der Flier will make up the back row. Meanwhile, on the bench, Cian Healy is set to earn his 262nd Leinster cap, putting him in second place on the team’s all-time record cap holder list - just behind Devin Toner - who currently holds the record with 280 caps.
There is also a place on the bench for Ryan Baird, who himself has battled back from a shoulder niggle.
LEINSTER:
15. Hugo Keenan
14. Jordan Larmour
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Charlie Ngatai
11. Jimmy O’Brien
10. Ross Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Andrew Porter
2. Dan Sheehan
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Ross Molony
5. James Ryan
6. Caelan Doris
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jack Conan
REPLACEMENTS:
16. John McKee
17. Cian Healy
18. Michael Ala’alatoa
19. Jason Jenkins
20. Ryan Baird
21. Luke McGrath
22. Harry Byrne
23. Ciarán Frawley
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Latest Comments
I was at this match. Jordie Barrett earned his money with a massive hit to slow a connaught attack to win the math when Leinster had 14 in the last few mins. Mack Hansen had a real go at the refereeing after citing a serious head hits on Iaone and Aki.
connaught were up for this. Snyman tried a trademark dirty after, and the onnaught 4 and the onnaught pack absolutely laid into him.
Leinster hose to kick to the corner when only winning by 5 with 10 left and qith only 2 tries scored. onnaught should have punisihed them for that utter stupidity after they broke out and Leinster yellowed to stop the attack.
13 changes from last week. It seems teams are scoring about 10 points less against Leinster this year. With Neinaber in his second year, the new attack coah established, surely they will be a bigger threat in champions up? Or will the attack recgress further.
They must adopt the SA philosophy of take your 3 pointers and the bonus points will come.
connaught back line inluding Iaone, Murphy, Aki, Forde, cordero is the seond best in Ireland surely. Leinster were lucky here
Go to commentsShould have played more for England but he jumped ship just as he was breaking through.
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