Leinster v Munster teams: SEVEN British and Irish Lions return for Croke Park showdown
Jamison Gibson-Park and Tadhg Beirne start for Leinster and Munster respectively.
Seven British and Irish Lions will make their first appearances of the season when Leinster face Munster in their United Rugby Championship (URC) fixture at Croke Park.
There are seven changes to the Leinster starting team from last Saturday’s 31-5 win over the Sharks, with Leo Cullen also confirming that Harry Byrne is out injured.
Four British and Irish Lions will make their first appearances of the season from the beginning of the game with another two set to do so off the bench, while Springboks lock RG Snyman has been named in the team for the first time since helping South Africa defend their Rugby Championship crown.
James Ryan is another of the returning Lions set for his first appearance of the campaign, partnering Snyman in the second-row behind an unchanged front-row of Paddy McCarthy, Rónan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong.
Sam Prendergast at 10
Jamison Gibson-Park, another three-Test Lion, makes his season bow at scrum-half with Sam Prendergast his partner at fly-half. Robbie Henshaw shifts back across to inside centre with Garry Ringrose joining him on the outside for the first time in 2025/26.
Tommy O’Brien comes back into the team to earn his 50th Leinster cap with James Lowe continuing on the left wing and Jamie Osborne named at full-back for the second week in a row.
Lions Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter are set for their first action of the campaign as they join Thomas Clarkson, Brian Deeny, Max Deegan and Scott Penny in a 6-2 split among the replacements, while Fintan Gunne and Ciarán Frawley offer the cover for the backs.
Meanwhile, Munster head coach Clayton McMillan has made 10 changes to his side for the second week in a row for this clash with their bitter rivals.
Last Friday’s bonus-point victory over Edinburgh at Virgin Media Park saw Munster make it three wins to start the URC season, collecting 14 of the 15 available points.
Munster captain Tadhg Beirne starts in the back-row on his first appearance of the season after winning the Player of the Series award for the British and Irish Lions in the summer. He becomes the 36th player to feature for the province so far this campaign.
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Edwin Edogbo makes his first start since December 2023 after a successful return from injury as a replacement against Edinburgh last week.
Shane Daly, Thaakir Abrahams, Dan Kelly, Jack Crowley and Ethan Coughlan all come into the backline.
Along with Beirne and Edogbo, John Ryan, Jack O’Donoghue and Brian Gleeson join the forward pack.
Daly, Andrew Smith and Abrahams start in the back three with Kelly and last week’s Player of the Match Tom Farrell in midfield.
Two-try Michael Milne keeps his place at loosehead along with hooker Diarmuid Barron as Ryan completes the front-row.
Edogbo and Fineen Wycherley start together in the engine room with Wycherley making his fourth successive start.
Beirne, O’Donoghue and Gleeson form the back-row.
Lee Barron, Jeremy Loughman and Academy prop Ronan Foxe provide the front-row back-up with Jean Kleyn and Gavin Coombes completing the forward cover.
Paddy Patterson, JJ Hanrahan and Alex Nankivell are the backline replacements.
The teams
Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 James Ryan, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Paddy McCarthy
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Scott Penny, 22 Fintan Gunne, 23 Ciarán Frawley
Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Andrew Smith, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Ethan Coughlan, 8 Brian Gleeson, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Tadhg Beirne (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 John Ryan, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Ronan Foxe, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Alex Nankivell
Venue: Croke Park, Dublin
Kick-off: 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 44th league game)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRFU), Jonny Erskine (IRFU)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv