Leo Cullen hoping to give Bernard Jackman a hot reception

Leo Cullen is expecting a Dragons side revitalised under new ownership and the guidance of former team-mate Bernard Jackman when Leinster open their Guinness Pro14 campaign at Rodney Parade in Newport this afternoon (3:15pm).

Head coach Cullen has some fresh impetus himself at the start of his third season in charge of the Blues, handing debuts to star Australian forward signing Scott Fardy and rising back-three talent Jordan Larmour while newly-minted Ireland lock James Ryan waits for a debut off the bench. There are also welcome returns for full-back Rob Kearney after eight months out and hooker Sean Cronin, whose last campaign was cut short by hamstring and neck injuries. Cian Healy also makes his first appearance having missed Leinster’s pre-season friendlies against Perpignan, Gloucester, and Bath.

Yet it is the arrival of former Ireland hooker Jackman from Grenoble as Dragons head coach, the first appointment since the Welsh Rugby Union took over the club, an early Leinster reunion with former full-back Zane Kirchner and a competitive debut for former Wales star Gavin Henson at fly-half that gives this fixture an element of intrigue that may have been absent if the status quo had remained for last season’s 11th place team.