Leinster ‘A’ go into their British & Irish Cup round 3 match on Saturday in Donnybrook Stadium in second spot in pool 4 on five points, with the team they face, Scarlets Premiership Select, leading the pack after winning their opening two games against Nottingham and Richmond.
The fixture will be the first of back-to-back games against the Welsh side, with the ‘A’ team knowing a win on Saturday will be crucial if they are to advance to the knock-out stages of the B&I Cup.
Peadar Timmins will captain the team in the back row alongside Max Deegan, who made his first senior appearance in the Guinness PRO12 win over Dragons last weekend, and Leinster centurion Dominic Ryan.
Mick Kearney and Ian Nagle form the second row partnership, with a front row consisting of Andrew Porter, Bryan Byrne and Jeremy Loughman.
Charlie Rock, who also made his senior debut against Dragons last weekend, starts at scrum-half, with Jimmy O’Brien moving from outside centre to play at out-half against Scarlets.
Barry Daly, who has made four Guinness PRO12 appearances this season for Leinster, starts on the left wing. Hugo Keenan, another player who received his first senior cap in recent weeks, start at full-back, with Jordan Larmour completing the back three.
Tom Daly made a try-scoring debut against Zebre last month and followed that up with another five-pointer in the defeat to Scarlets in the PRO12. He starts at inside centre for Leinster ‘A’ with Jack Kelly outside him in the number 13 shirt.
Leinster ‘A’ head coach Hugh Hogan can also call on Ross Molony from the bench, as well as Oisín Heffernan, another player with recent PRO12 experience.
Speaking to leinsterrugby.ie ahead of the match at Donnybrook on Saturday, Hogan said:
“The main focus of Leinster as a club has to, of course, be the senior Northampton game. But we’ve had the opportunity to train against our European Cup squad this week, so that certainly gets us up to a high level. When we can perform at that level, [the ‘A’ squad] should have confidence going into the weekend.
“That’s certainly not taking the Scarlets lightly; they’ve won their two games, they’re in control of this group. Having lost to Nottingham we’re under a bit of pressure now. We have a home game that we feel we have to win to keep our interest in this competition alive.
“It is a strong Scarlets team and they’ve a number of guys who play in the PRO12, or certainly in the Anglo-Welsh Cup as well. It’s a great opportunity for some of our young guys to test themselves at this level.”
Leinster ‘A’ face Scarlets Premiership Select in the British & Irish Cup at Donnybrook Stadium on Saturday at 2pm.
Pay at the gate from €10 for adults and €5 for under-18s. Season Ticket holders can enter for free when they show their 2016/17 card at the gate.
Leinster ‘A’
15. Hugo Keenan
14. Jordan Larmour
13. Jack Kelly
12. Tom Daly
11. Barry Daly
10. Jimmy O’Brien
9. Charlie Rock
1. Andrew Porter
2. Bryan Byrne
3. Jeremy Loughman
4. Mick Kearney
5. Ian Nagle
6. Peadar Timmins CAPTAIN
7. Dominic Ryan
8. Max Deegan
Replacements
16. Sean McNulty
17. Oisín Heffernan
18. Ross Molony
19. Tony Ryan
20. Jamie Glynn
21. Ciaran Frawley
22. Jack Power
