Ed Byrne to make 100th Leinster appearance as Leo Cullen hands two players debuts

Elsewhere Connacht have named their side to face Emirates Lions while Ulster have selected their squad of their two matches in South Africa.

HAPPY CENTURION: Ed Byrne is set to make his 100th Leinster appearance, while Academy duo Andrew Osborne and Diarmuid Mangan are set to make their debuts. Pic Credit: Ben Brady, Inpho

Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen has named his team to take on Zebre Parma in Round 12 of the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday evening.

Ed Byrne is set to make his 100th Leinster appearance, while Academy duo Andrew Osborne and Diarmuid Mangan are set to make their debuts.

Byrne made his Leinster debut in February 2014, coming on as a sub in Parma against Zebre. To date he has scored 13 tries for the province, and was part of the teams that won the Guinness PRO14 in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Ciarán Frawley returns to the Leinster lineup for the first time since featuring for Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations. He is joined in the back three by Rob Russell and the debutant Osborne.

Elsewhere, Connacht Head Coach Pete Wilkins has named his side for their BKT United Rugby Championship meeting with Emirates Lions at Dexcom Stadium, also on Saturday evening.

There are five changes to the side that beat Scarlets three weeks ago, with all of them coming in the pack.

Prop Denis Buckley, hooker Tadgh McElroy, lock Joe Joyce, flanker Conor Oliver and number 8 Sean O’Brien come into the side.

Connacht are aiming for their fourth straight win in the competition as they continue their quest for playoff qualification and a return to next season’s Investec Champions Cup.

“Tomorrow marks the start of a huge block of games for us both in the URC and Challenge Cup," said Wilkins.

"We navigated through the Six Nations period with the two wins we needed, so now we want to build on that for the remainder of the season.

"The Lions are getting stronger with every year they’re in this competition, and they’re one of the strongest South African sides away from home.

"So we’re fully aware of the challenge ahead, and the need for us to be at the top of our game to get the win.”

Finally Ulster have selected a 30-man squad that will travel to South Africa on Friday to play Hollywoodbets Sharks (on Saturday) and DHL Stormers over the two weekends in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

The tour will be the first matches for Ulster’s new interim head coach, Richie Murphy, following the conclusion of the U20 Six Nations.

Leinster: C Frawley, R Russell, L Turner, J Osborne, A Osborne, R Byrne, L McGrath, E Byrne, L Barron, T Clarkson, R Molony, J Jenkins, W Connors, S Penny, M Deegan.

Replacements: J McKee, M Milne, M Ala’alatoa, B Deeny, D Mangan, F Gunne, S Prendergast, H McErlean.

Connacht: T O’Halloran; B Ralston, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, A Smith; JJ Hanrahan, C Blade (c); D Buckley, T McElroy, J Aungier; N Murray, J Joyce; C Prendergast, C Oliver, S O’Brien.

Replacements: D Heffernan, J Duggan, S Illo, D Murray, S Hurley-Langton, C Reilly, J Carty, P Boyle.

Ulster Forwards: S Kitshoff, A Warwick, E O’Sullivan, T O’Toole, S Wilson, T Stewart, J Andrew, R Herring, K Treadwell, I Henderson, H Sheridan, C Izuchukwu, M Rea, D McCann, N Timoney, M Rea, S Reffell.

Ulster Backs: J Cooney, D Shanahan, N Doak, B Burns, J Flannery, J Postlethwaite, J Hume, S McCloskey, S Moore, M Lowry, E McIlroy, R Baloucoune, W Addison.