Leinster and Munster name teams for URC showdown in Aviva

Leinster and Munster have both named their teams for their mouth-watering URC showdown this Saturday in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Barring a pre-season game, it's the first time that the two sides will meet since Munster dumped Leinster out of running for last season's URC in a hotly contested semi-final.

Leo Cullen has named pretty much an Ireland XV for the clash, while Munster have made six changes to the side that beat Stormers last weekend.

Robbie Henshaw and Jack Conan are set for their first appearances of the season for Leinster, while Tadhg Furlong is set for this first start of the campaign.

Simon Zebo makes his first appearance of the season for the Munster and his first start at full-back for the men in red since 2018.

Leinster had dominated the fixture over the last five years, but last year's URC semi-final defeat has breathed new life into the competitiveness of the rivalry.

LEINSTER:

15. Hugo Keenan

14. Jordan Larmour

13. Garry Ringrose

12. Robbie Henshaw

11. Jimmy O’Brien

10. Ross Byrne

9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter

2. Dan Sheehan

3. Tadhg Furlong

4. Joe McCarthy

5. James Ryan (C)

6. Jack Conan

7. Josh van der Flier

8. Caelan Doris

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Rónan Kelleher, 17. Jack Boyle, 18. Michael Ala’alatoa, 19. Ross Molony, 20. James Culhane, 21. Ben Murphy, 22. Ciarán Frawley, 23. Scott Penny

MUNSTER:

15. Simon Zebo

14. Calvin Nash

13. Antoine Frisch

12. Rory Scannell

11. Shane Daly

10. Jack Crowley

9. Craig Casey

1. Jeremy Loughman

2. Diarmuid Barron (C)

3. Stephen Archer

4. Jean Kleyn

5. Tadhg Beirne

6. Tom Ahern

7. John Hodnett

8. Gavin Coombes

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Scott Buckley, 17. Dave Kilcoyne, 18. John Ryan, 19. Brian Gleeson, 20. Alex Kendellen, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Tony Butler, 23. Shay McCarthy.