The first round of the interprovincial derbies will take place this weekend with Ulster set to travel down to Limerick to play Munster in Thomond Park while Leinster will head to Galway where they will take on Connacht.
Undefeated Ulster will look to maintain their unbeaten start after opening round wins over the Scarlets, Edinburgh and the Southern Kings followed by a draw with the Cheetahs last week and they welcome back Iain Henderson into the second-row, while prop Andrew Warwick will make his 100th appearance for the province as he starts ahead of Tom O’Toole at tighthead prop.
Meanwhile Munster will try and bounce back from last Friday’s comprehensive loss to the Cardiff Blues as they welcome back Keith Earls to the starting lineup while former Auckland Blues scrum-half Alby Matthewson will make his debut for the province after overcoming issues with his work permit.
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT
Here's your Ulster team to take on @Munsterrugby tomorrow night at Thomond Park! Read more here > https://t.co/XFMBbjg42p pic.twitter.com/b8Zexf5F4J
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) September 28, 2018
Munster: Mike Haley; Andrew Conway, Dan Goggin, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls; Joey Carbery, Alby Mathewson; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Tadhg Beirne, Billy Holland; Peter O’Mahony (C), Tommy O’Donnell, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, James Cronin, Ciaran Parker, Jean Kleyn, Arno Botha, Duncan Williams, Ian Keatley, Sammy Arnold.
As for Leinster, the PRO14 champions will welcome back Ireland international Sean O’Brien to the bench after his successful return from a shoulder injury while Rob Kearney, Tadhg Furlong and Scott Fardy all return to the starting team after missing out in the win over Edinburgh.
Wallaby utility Joe Tomane has also been named at inside centre with Robbie Henshaw dropping out of the matchday squad entirely in what would have been his first game back at Connacht since moving to Leinster in 2016.
Meanwhile former Melbourne Rebels flanker Colby Fainga’a will make his debut for Connacht on Saturday while Ultan Dillane will partner fellow Ireland international Quinn Roux in the second-row after he replaced Gavin Thornbury early on in last weekend’s win over the Scarlets.
Hooker Dave Heffernan will also assume the captaincy after regular captain Jarrad Butler was ruled out of this weekend’s game with an unspecified injury.
LINE UP: @JohnnySexton captains #LeinsterRugby; @SeanOBrien1987 could make his return if called upon from the bench, as could @n_mccarthy25. #CONvLEI pic.twitter.com/7EZ68OBPJc
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) September 28, 2018
🚨 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Here is your Connacht team to face @leinsterrugby tomorrow at The Sportsground!
❇️ @daveheffernan88 named as captain👨✈️
❇️ A first start for @colbyfaingaa ☝️
❇️ @Ultan_Dillane partners @QuinnRoux 🤝Full details ➡️ https://t.co/x3xIUh2erZ pic.twitter.com/ft8yZeLjUF
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) September 28, 2018
Leinster scrum coach John Fogarty said that there was a big desire within the province this week to make amends for their poor showing last season and that the players were a bit embarrassed by their 47-10 loss in Galway.
“For some of the lads,” Fogarty replied at Monday’s squad update when asked if the Connacht game would be taken personally given Healy’s comments after the Edinburgh game.
“But I think it’s more their own performance. To lose a game in the manner in which we lost the game – we lost the physical battle, we lost the set-piece, obviously the scoreboard was terrible – so I think it’s those parts that hurt more than anything.
“I don’t think anything else matters. The lads will be disappointed in their own performance and a little bit embarrassed because they didn’t play collectively. We were mentally weak if you ask me leading into that game and that showed up on the day.
“It’s important for us to be clear in our heads what the threats are against Connacht and for us to arrive physically ready to play. All the other stuff – the John Muldoon stuff – it doesn’t feature too much in our chats this week or in our heads as coaches. It’s more how can we prepare this team to play and perform.”
