Contepomi to complete ton against Connacht

Felipe Contepomi will become the first overseas player to reach the 100 cap milestone when Leinster take on Connacht in Sunday's Magners League clash at the Sportsground in Galway.

Contepomi becomes the 14th Leinster player to reach the century mark and said; 'When I first signed for Leinster back in 2003 I could never have known that I would reach 100 caps. It is a huge honour for me to do so because playing for Leinster means a lot to me.'

Elswhere, Rob Kearney starts at full-back and lines up in an exciting backline which also includes Shane Horgan and Luke Fitzgerald, who partners Contepomi at centre.

Simon Keogh will make his 11th Leinster appearance on the left wing, but his first since rejoining the province from Harlequins over the summer.

In the pack, Stan Wright and John Fogarty come into the front row alongside CJ Van Der Linde with Rocky Elsom also retaining his place to partner Sean O'Brien and Stephen Keogh in a strong-looking back-row formation.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's game, Leinster captain Leo Cullen says that the squad must regroup as they look forward to an Interprovincial derby with Connacht.

'It's going to be a very physical game. Connacht really raise their game when they play against the Irish provinces and we've had some pretty tough games against them over the years.

'It's a very tough place to play. We were lucky to get a very tight win in atrocious conditions down there last year, so we'll have to see what the conditions are like first, but coming off a loss we're keen to get back to winning ways.'

Leinster XV v Connacht in the Magners League at the Sportsground, Sunday, 6.00pm:

Rob Kearney, Shane Horgan, Luke Fitzgerald, Felipe Contepomi, Simon Keogh, Jonathan Sexton, Chris Keane, Stan Wright, John Fogarty, CJ Van Der Linde, Leo Cullen, Devin Toner, Rocky Elsom, Sean O'Brien, Stephen Keogh

Replacements: Cian Healy, Brian Blaney, Trevor Hogan, Cameron Jowitt, Chris Whitaker, Fergus McFadden, Gary Brown