Preview: Leinster v Scarlets

Leinster have named an unchanged starting line-up for their Heineken Cup rematch with the Scarlets at the RDS on Saturday.

Leinster have named an unchanged starting line-up for their Heineken Cup rematch with the Scarlets at the RDS.

The reigning champions were in fine form last week as they brushed aside the Welsh 32-7 thanks to strong efforts from Isa Nacewa and Shaun Berne.

But Consultant Coach Alan Gaffney is keen for his men to front up once more against their opponents, who he expects to come out fighting.

“We're expecting a different proposition this weekend and we played some pretty good rugby for 40 minutes and in the last 20, but in the other period we were just too sloppy. We let ourselves down actually, and we've got to improve those areas,” he said, speaking to the side's website.

“As Michael (Cheika) has alluded to already, the players were pretty disappointed in the dressing-room afterwards, but the Scarlets will come out fighting. They still have a mathematical chance of qualifying so they will give themselves a chance.”

More to follow…

The teams:

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

Scarlets: 15 Rhys Priestland, 14 Darren Daniel, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Jon Davies, 11 Andrew Fenby, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 David Lyons, 7 Jon Edwards, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Iestyn Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Phil John, 18 Jamie Corsi, 19 Vernon Cooper, 20 Rob McCusker, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Daniel Evans, 23 Gareth Maule.

Date: Saturday, December 19
Kick-off: 15:45 GMT
Venue: RDS
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank (England), Kevin Stewart (England)
Television match official: Ed Morrison (England)