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04 Apr 2026
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04 Apr 2026
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Garry Ringrose, left, and Rónan Kelleher during a Leinster Rugby captain's run at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
The Leinster Rugby team, proudly sponsored by Bank of Ireland, to take on Racing 92 in the Heineken Champions Cup, on Saturday afternoon in Aviva Stadium, has been named by Leo Cullen. Kick off is at 3.15pm and the game will be shown live on RTÉ2 and BT Sport.
There are three changes to the team that defeated Gloucester Rugby last week, as the staring lineup includes 14 players selected by Andy Farrell in Ireland’s Six Nations squad earlier this week.
The backline remains unchanged from last week’s win, with Rónan Kelleher, Joe McCarthy and Jack Conan coming into the pack.
Hugo Keenan starts at full-back, and is joined by Jordan Larmour and Jimmy O’Brien on the wings.
Garry Ringrose captains the side, and he partners Jamie Osborne in the centre. Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park form the half-backs.
In the pack, Andrew Porter, Kelleher and Michael Ala’alatoa will start in the front row.
McCarthy joins James Ryan in the second row, with Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Conan completing the pack.
On the bench, there is a 6-2 split, with Luke McGrath set to make his 50th appearance in Europe and Scott Penny in line to earn his 49th cap, and first in Europe.
Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets):
15. Hugo Keenan (50)
14. Jordan Larmour (82)
13. Garry Ringrose (112) CAPTAIN
12. Jamie Osborne (28)
11. Jimmy O’Brien (64)
10. Ross Byrne (142)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (121)
1. Andrew Porter (102)
2. Rónan Kelleher (44)
3. Michael Ala’alatoa (37)
4. Joe McCarthy (16)
5. James Ryan (68)
6. Caelan Doris (63)
7. Josh van der Flier (123)
8. Jack Conan (126)
16. Dan Sheehan (38)
17. Michael Milne (22)
18. Cian Healy (258)
19. Ross Molony (153)
20. Ryan Baird (47)
21. Luke McGrath (185)
22. Harry Byrne (41)
23. Scott Penny (48)
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
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