Head coach Richie Murphy has made one change from the Ulster side that beat La Rochelle in the Challenge Cup last weekend, with Sean Reffell starting in place of the injured Nick Timoney. Otherwise, it\u2019s as you were. <\/p>\n
Murphy\u2019s Leinster<\/a> counterpart has taken a different tack. Leo Cullen names just three survivors \u2013 Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose and James Ryan \u2013 from the run-on team that beat Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Provincial squabbles are far from linear. The result matters in tangible form \u2013 match points \u2013 but from an individual perspective there are always wider ramifications. And it\u2019s not just about a pecking order from a national perspective. <\/p>\n Sam Prendergast resumes at outhalf having missed out on involvement in a couple of European matches. He does so against a backdrop of conceding the Ireland 10 jersey to Jack Crowley and the Leinster equivalent to Harry Byrne. In terms of form, those players are in better fettle. Sport can be brutally unsentimental, rooted in the now.<\/p>\n Prendergast will relaunch his bid to take back those jerseys on Friday night. Players talk about opportunity. This is a king-sized one, but he can\u2019t do it alone. His input and impact are partially governed by the work of others to get him decent ball. Only then is it possible to accurately calibrate his influence.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not alone in having plenty of skin in the game. There are other, more direct duels; successor versus predecessor, so to speak. One such is Stuart McCloskey \u2013 arguably Ireland\u2019s Player of the Six Nations \u2013 and Robbie Henshaw. <\/p>\n James Hume, fit again and firing after a couple of seasons with niggling injury, will enjoy a crack off Garry Ringrose. while Tom Stewart will be eyeing up a tussle with R\u00f3nan Kelleher, the two hookers being Ireland squadmates. Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will appreciate the forum to clarify or reorder selection ahead of the Nations Cup in the summer.<\/p>\n Joshua Kenny, with nine tries to his name, has made a brilliant fist of his first season in professional rugby after a brief hiatus with Sevens. Zac Ward, a key player for Ireland in the abridged version of the game, has also acquitted himself superbly. Teammates in the Ireland Development XV that took on England A in Limerick, they\u2019ll be patrolling the same patch. <\/p>\n Alex Soroka has been regularly a standout in matches for Leinster this season, ditto Dave McCann for Ulster while Cormac Izuchukwu adds massive value in a variety of guises, whether in the backrow or secondrow. Leinster captain James Ryan has been consistently excellent. Tom O\u2019Toole is operating in a dual capacity, positionally. Thomas Clarkson would no doubt encourage him to pursue a future at loosehead. <\/p>\n Prop Ed Byrne\u2019s return to Leinster \u2013 he\u2019s played 102 matches for the province \u2013 on a short-term loan from Cardiff will ease injury concerns in that position. <\/p>\n![\"Leinster's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SLRTOQQ7AB4SBS3GGGVK4N4U5I.jpg\")
Leinster’s Joshua Kenny scores a try in last month’s URC victory against Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo\/Inpho <\/p>\n