Preview: London Irish v Leinster

Editor

Wings Topsy Ojo and Sailosi Tagicakibau return to action for London Irish in Saturday's Heineken Cup match with Leinster at Twickenham.

Wings Topsy Ojo and Sailosi Tagicakibau return to action for London Irish in Saturday's Heineken Cup final pool six match with Leinster at Twickenham.

London Irish's defeat at the Scarlets last weekend means reigning European champions Leinster only need a point from their Twickenham showdown to win the group.

A Leinster win would confirm a home draw and effectively send Irish, who would probably qualify if they win, crashing out.

England international Ojo will be making his first appearance of the season while Samoan and Pacific Islands international Tagicakibau returns having recovered from the foot injury he suffered in the November internationals.

The wingers are two of the three changes the Exiles make to the team that started against Scarlets last weekend; the other change sees Chris Malone at fly-half.

There are no changes to the forwards. Steffon Armitage, who made his 100th senior appearance for the club last Sunday, will lead the team out at Twickenham.

Bob Casey captains the team against his former side.

“We're relishing the challenge of playing Leinster tomorrow,” said London Irish Head Coach Toby Booth.

“Wherever you look on their team sheet you see the names of great players with both experience and ability.

“Performing on the big stage that is Twickenham is something our players are used to. In the last two years we've played there in two London Double Headers, a semi-final of the Heineken Cup and a Guinness Premiership Final. That cumulative experience matters when it comes to important matches like tomorrow evening's. ”

Meanwhile, Leo Cullen leads the Leinster team and will make his 50th Leinster appearance in the Heineken Cup.

In all there are two changes to the side that defeated Brive 27-10 last weekend, with Bernard Jackman coming into the front-row alongside CJ van der Linde. Cian Healy completes the front-row.

Eoin Reddan partners Jonathan Sexton at half-back, with Gordon D'Arcy lining up alongside Brian O'Driscoll at centre. Sean O'Brien is one of four Ireland internationals on the replacements bench.

The teams:

London Irish:15 Delon Armitage, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Chris Malone, 9 Paul Hodgson, 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Richard Thorpe, 5 Bob Casey, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 David Paice, 1 Clarke Dermody.
Replacements:16 James Buckland, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Paulica Ion, 19 Gary Johnson, 20 Kieran Roche, 21 Peter Hewat, 22 Peter Richards, 23 Ryan Lamb,

Leinster:15 Rob Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip , 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Leo Cullen(c), 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bernard Jackman, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 John Fogarty, 17 Mike Ross, 18 Stan Wright, 19 Malcolm O'Kelly, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Paul O'Donohoe, 22 Shaun Berne, 23 Girvan Dempsey.

Date:Saturday, January 23
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off:18.00 GMT
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU),