Ciaran Frawley dropped! Leinster go early with team announcement as James Lowe returns for milestone match
Ciaran Frawley misses out for Leinster as James Lowe is recalled.
Leinster have surprisingly dropped Ciaran Frawley from their squad for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final against the Lions at the Aviva Stadium.
Frawley was the side’s standout performer in last weekend’s Investec Champions Cup Final defeat to Bordeaux-Begles as he inspired a mini-revival in the second period.
Despite this he misses out on the 23 picked by head coach Leo Cullen today, with Sam Prendergast selected as starting number 10 and Harry Byrne moving to the bench.
James Lowe recalled
Those are part of a number of changes made following that European defeat in Bilbao, with James Lowe recalled on the wing for what is his 100th run-out for Leinster.
Lowe, who equalled Shane Horgan’s all-time try-scoring record (69 tries) in his last outing, takes the jersey of Rieko Ioane as the All Blacks stalwart reverts to midfield.
There’s no spot in the 23 for Tommy O’Brien as Jimmy O’Brien starts on the other wing while Garry Ringrose also misses out, with Robbie Henshaw making the bench.
Elsewhere, Hugo Keenan continues at full-back while Jamie Osborne is alongside Ioane at centre and Luke McGrath is scrum-half, Jamison Gibson-Park acting as sub.
In the pack, Caelan Doris leads Leinster from number eight and will have two new flankers alongside this week, as Max Deegan is blindside and Scott Penny openside.
Tadhg Furlong moves into the starting line-up after being on the bench last weekend, with Andrew Porter and Dan Sheehan completing the front-row against the Lions.
Try scorer last week, Joe McCarthy, and James Ryan continue in the second-row for this URC fixture at the Aviva as Springboks forward RG Snyman remains sidelined.
Finally, Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov and Thomas Clarkson offer the front-row cover while Diarmuid Mangan and Josh van der Flier wrap up the forward bench options.
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Leinster team to face Lions
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Scott Penny, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Robbie Henshaw
Date: Saturday, May 30
Kick-off: 20.00 IRE & UK / 21.00 ITA & SA
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 63rd league game)
Assistant referees: Hollie Davidson (SRU) and Ru Campbell (SRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv