Culhane drafted into Leinster side

Former Munster fly-half Ben Healy will make his first return to Irish shores when Edinburgh take on Leinster.

RISING STAR: James Culhane. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom Maher

Academy No.8 James Culhane is the only change to Leinster’s starting line-up from last weekend’s victory over the Sharks as Leo Cullen’s men return to the RDS on Saturday to face Edinburgh in round three of the BKT URC.

Culhane, an Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winner in 2022, is set for his fifth senior Leinster appearance having replaced Rhys Ruddock, who moves to the bench as a back-row replacement.

Leinster lost their opening game of the URC campaign at Glasgow Warriors a fortnight ago but rebounded on their return to Dublin last Saturday with a 34-13 victory over South Africa’s Sharks at the RDS.

There is one positional switch from that starting line-up with Culhane’s inclusion requiring Max Deegan to move from No.8 to blindside flanker to fill the vacancy created by Ruddock’s absence. 

Deegan marked his 100th Leinster appearance with a try against the Sharks, one of five scored by the home side with wings Jordan Larmour and Tommy O’Brien and replacement Rob Russell (two) contributing to the bonus-point victory.

Edinburgh, with two wins from two in the URC, will arrive in Dublin 4 with a number of returnees from Scotland’s World Cup squad, the latest of whom will be loosehead prop Pierre Schoeman and wing Duhan van der Merwe, back for their first club appearances of the season.

Former Munster fly-half Ben Healy will make his first return to Irish shores having kicked 24 points in the opening two games of his Edinburgh career, wins over the Lions and Dragons.

LEINSTER: C Frawley; T O’Brien, J Osborne, C Ngatai, J Larmour; H Byrne, C Foley; J Boyle, L Barron, M Ala’alatoa; R Molony, J Jenkins; M Deegan, S Penny – captain, J Culhane.

Replacements: D Donnellan, P McCarthy, R McGuire, B Deeny, R Ruddock, B Murphy, S Prendergast, R Russell.

EDINBURGH: B Kinghorn; W Goosen, M Bennett, M Currie, D van der Merwe; B Healy, C Shiel; P Schoeman, D Cherry, WP Nel; G Young, G Gilchrist – captain; T Dodd, H Watson, L Crosbie.

Replacements: E Ashman, B Venter, J Sebastian, M Sykes, C Boyle, H Patterson, J Lang, C Dean.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)