Battle of the provinces.

Leinster Rugby head coach Leo Cullen has named his team to take on provincial rivals Munster at the Aviva Stadium this weekend.

This will be Leinster’s first game since the 28th February when they accounted for Glasgow Warriors at the RDS Arena and with Covid-19 restrictions still very much in place the game will be played behind closed doors at the Aviva Stadium.

With the Guinness PRO14 resuming this weekend with Round 14 matches, Leinster Rugby are currently on top of Conference A after 13 games with Ulster Rugby in second place. Munster Rugby, for their part, are second in Conference B only two points behind Edinburgh Rugby.

Jordan Larmour, Dave Kearney and James Lowe have been selected as the back three with Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose in the centre.

Johnny Sexton will captain the team with Luke McGrath alongside him.

In the pack Cian Healy and Andrew Porter start at loosehead and tighthead with Rónan Kelleher at hooker.

Ryan Baird is involved for the first time against Munster having previously played against Ulster (his debut in 2019) and Connacht. It is also his first start in an inter-provincial game. Baird will be joined by Scott Fardy in the second row.

In the back row, Caelan Doris starts at blindside flanker for the first time for Leinster, with Josh van der Flier at openside.

Finally, Jack Conan plays for the first time this season having recovered from an ankle injury picked up at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. His last game for Leinster was last season’s Guinness PRO14 Final.

Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets)

15. Jordan Larmour (46)
14. Dave Kearney (148)
13. Garry Ringrose (72)
12. Robbie Henshaw (44)
11. James Lowe (43)
10. Johnny Sexton (163) CAPTAIN
9. Luke McGrath (123)
1. Cian Healy (216)
2. Rónan Kelleher (11)
3. Andrew Porter (62)
4. Ryan Baird (7)
5. Scott Fardy (58)
6. Caelan Doris (29)
7. Josh van der Flier (80)
8. Jack Conan (89)

16. Seán Cronin (181)
17. Ed Byrne (52)
18. Michael Bent (135)
19. Devin Toner (244)
20. Will Connors (15)
21. Jamison Gibson-Park (88)
22. Ross Byrne (84)
23. Max Deegan (62)