Leinster unchanged, Saracens pick Will Skelton for final

Adam Kyriacou
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Two of the strongest teams in recent years will go face-to-face in the 2019 Champions Cup final as Leinster take on Saracens this Saturday.

Leinster tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong will make his 100th appearance for the Irish side in Newcastle. The 26-year-old made his debut in November 2013 off the bench against the Dragons.

Elsewhere, there is no change to the XV that started the semi-final against Toulouse.

Rob Kearney starts at full-back with Jordan Larmour and James Lowe on the wings while Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose line up in the number 12 and 13 jerseys respectively.

In the half-backs Luke McGrath starts at scrum-half with captain Johnny Sexton at 10.

Cian Healy, Seán Cronin and Furlong start in the front-row with Devin Toner and James Ryan behind them in the second-row.

In the back-row, Australian international Scott Fardy starts at six, with Seán O’Brien making his final appearance in Europe for Leinster at openside and finally Jack Conan at number eight.

Meanwhile, 11 of Saracens’ matchday 23 have come through the club’s academy, two of which have been nominated for the EPCR European Player of the Year award.

Alex Goode and Mako Vunipola have been in fine form in the tournament and deserve their name on the five-man shortlist. The duo start at 15 and loosehead prop respectively.

Jamie George and Titi Lamositele join the latter in the front-row while Sean Maitland has recovered from his hamstring complaint to slot back in on the wing. Liam Williams completes the back three.

Scotland international Maitland is just one of two changes from the side that defeated Munster in the semi-final with Will Skelton’s devastating performances of late earning him a spot in the second-row alongside George Kruis.

His inclusion means Maro Itoje switches to blindside flanker alongside Jackson Wray and Billy Vunipola.

Captain Brad Barritt takes his place in the midfield with Alex Lozowski outside a half-back partnership of Ben Spencer and Owen Farrell.

16 players in Saturday’s squad have experienced European success before as Sarries look to add to their two Champions Cup titles won in 2016 and 2017.

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Seán O’Brien, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Rory O’Loughlin

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 George Kruis, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 David Strettle

Date: Saturday, May 11
Venue: St James’ Park
Kick-off: 17:00 BST (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gaüzère (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)

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