Preview: Leinster v London Irish

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Leinster open their Heineken Cup defence against London Irish on Friday, with only one change from the side that hammered Munster.

Leinster open their Heineken Cup defence against London Irish on Friday, with only one change from the side that hammered Munster last weekend.

Former Quins prop Mike Ross starts at tighthead for Stan Wright, who is injured, while CJ van der Linde is named on the bench.

Also on the bench is Lions full-back Rob Kearney, who cannot break in ahead of Isa Nacewa.

For the Exiles, Tom Homer replaces the unfortunate Adam Thompstone on the wing and Declan Danaher replaces Richard Thorpe on the blindside from the team that beat Sale last week.

There is also a completely new front row for the Exiles, with last week's trio of Danie Coetzee, Paulica Ion and Dan Murphy making way for David Paice, Faan Rautenbach and Clarke Dermody respectively.

Form: London Irish have almost made up the four point gap incurred as a result of losing one more game than Saracens by running in bonus points this season, and are undoutbedly England's form team. Leinster were devastating against a 14-man Munster last week and sit proudly atop the Magners League. A close one to call, but the home team's advantage should count for enough.

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Johanthan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 Mike Ross, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Bernard Jackman, 17 Ronan McCormack, 18 CJ Van Der Linde, 19 Malcolm O'Kelly, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Stephen Keogh, 22 Shaun Berne, 23 Rob Kearney.

London Irish: 15 Peter Hewat, 14 Tom Homer, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Chris Malone, 9 Paul Hodgson, 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Declan Danaher, 5 Bob Casey, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 David Paice, 1 Clarke Dermody.
Replacements: 16 Danie Coetzee, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Paulica Ion, 19 Andy Perry, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Jamie Lennard, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Alfredo Lalanne.

Date: Friday, October 9
Venue: RDS, Dublin
Kick-off: 20.00 BST
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Eric Soulan (France), Bernard Dal Maso (France)
Television match official: Jean-Christophe Gastou (France)

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