Leinster head coach Matt O'Connor has made wholesale changes to his starting XV for Sunday's Guinness PRO12 clash with Newport Gwent Dragons at the RDS (3pm).
With 12 Leinster players in the Irish squad to face France, there are nine changes in total from the team that started the final Champions Cup game against Wasps three weeks ago.
Fergus McFadden, Dave Kearney, Jimmy Gopperth, Michael Bent, Kane Douglas and Dominic Ryan are the six players retained from the team that drew 20-20 in the Ricoh Arena.
Richardt Strauss and Tadhg Furlong join Michael Bent in the front row, with Tom Denton partnering Kane Douglas in the second.
The back row is a mix of youth and experience with Dominic Ryan selected at blindside, Jack Conan at eight and Shane Jennings will captain the side from openside flanker in what will be his 203rd cap for the province.
Luke McGrath starts at scrum-half with Jimmy Gopperth outside him at ten. Fergus McFadden has recovered from the rib injury sustained in the Irish Wolfhounds game against the English Saxons and takes his place on the right wing, while Darragh Fanning is selected on the left. Dave Kearney has also recovered from the shoulder injury picked up early in the game against Wasps and starts at full-back for the first time this season.
Noel Reid and Ben Te'o are once again selected at centre having last played together in the 13-22 away win against Cardiff in January. While Te'o went off with a rib injury that day, Reid scored the opening try in a four try bonus point win.
On the bench, John Cooney, who has been on loan at Connacht this season, has been recalled as scrum-half cover with other options limited by international commitments with the Irish senior squad and the Under-20s squad.
Cooney has, to date, made 27 appearances for Leinster since his debut in September 2011 against the Ospreys and has played five times for Connacht this season having recovered from a shoulder injury.
O'Connor also confirmed that Maks Van Dyke's short-term loan deal with Leinster has come to an end and he has returned to South Africa in time for the new Super Rugby season with the Cheetahs. Van Dyk was drafted in as short-term cover at prop and played a number of times for the Leinster A's and against Connacht in the Guinness PRO12.
Leinster: D Kearney, F McFadden, B Te'o, N Reid, D Fanning, J Gopperth, L McGrath; M Bent, R Strauss, T Furlong,T Denton, K Douglas, D Ryan, S Jennings (Capt), J Conan.
Replacements: A Dundon, P Dooley,J Hagan, M McCarthy, J Van Der Flier, J Cooney, C Marsh, L Fitzgerald.
Craig Gilroy will become the youngest player to win 100 caps for Ulster when he lines out against Benetton Treviso at Kingspan Stadium tonight (7.35pm).
The 23-year-old made his debut for the province against Cardiff in November 2010 and has scored 25 tries in 99 appearances.
Nick Williams, Louis Ludik and Stuart McCloskey are also included in the match-day squad having recovered from injury, with Williams selected at Number 8, Ludik at full-back and McCloskey named among the replacements.
With the returning players and international commitments, there are five changes and two positional switches to the side that defeated Leicester Tigers at Kingspan Stadium three weeks ago.
Props Callum Black and Wiehahn Herbst maintain their places in the front row, with Rob Herring, who represented Ireland Wolfhounds last week, selected at hooker.
Lewis Stevenson is picked in the second row, where he is partnered by Franco van der Merwe.
Williams is joined in the backrow by captain Roger Wilson, who moves from Number 8 to blindside and Mike McComish, who starts again at openside.
Gilroy and Ludik are joined in the back three by Michael Allen with Darren Cave, who scored a hat trick of tries against the Tigers, lining-up in midfield alongside Luke Marshall.
Ruan Pienaar starts at scum-half with Ian Humphreys, who needs just nine points to break the 500 mark in PRO12 rugby, selected at out-half.
Robbie Diack has been released from the Ireland international squad and is named on the replacements’ bench. He is joined by fellow forwards, John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Bronson Ross and Clive Ross.
Backs, Paul Marshall, Stuart McCloskey and Peter Nelson complete the match-day squad.
Ulster: L Ludik; C Gilroy, D Cave, L Marshall, M Allen, I Humphreys, R Pienaar; C Black, R Herring, W Herbst, L Stevenson, F Van der Merwe, R Wilson (Captain), M McComish, N Williams;
Replacements: J Andrew, A Warwick, B Ross, R Diack, C Ross, P Marshall, S McCloskey, P Nelson.
Denis Hurley will captain Munster for Saturday’s PRO12 clash with Cardiff Blues (7.35pm) in a side that also includes international duo Ian Keatley and Keith Earls.
Munster coach Anthony Foley has also named academy player Jack O'Donoghue in his starting XV for the clash, which will be Munster’s first outing at the newly redeveloped Irish Independent Park (formerly Musgrave Park).
O'Donoghue will start at Number 8 and will be joined in the back row by blindside flanker Sean Dougall and openside Dave O'Callaghan.
In the front row John Ryan and BJ Botha start on either side of Eusebio Guinazu. Botha is set to make his 90th appearance in the red of Munster, while the versatile Guinazu makes his first start as hooker.
The experienced local duo of Donncha O'Callaghan and Billy Holland make up the second row.
Following his involvement in last weekend's Six Nations victory over Italy, Keatley has been made available to the province and will partner Duncan Williams in the half-backs.
Earls is another international representative available for selection and the Limerick native will join captain Hurley in the midfield.
JJ Hanrahan starts at full-back for the third time this season with Ronan O'Mahony and Andrew Conwayon the left and right wing respectively.
After successfully rehabbing a knee injury sustained against Clermont Auvergne at Thomond Park in December, Dave Kilcoyne is named amongst the replacements, as are academy centre Rory Scannell and Garryowen scrum-half Neil Cronin, both of whom are in contention to make their second senior appearances for the province this weekend.
Munster: JJ Hanrahan; Andrew Conway, Keith Earls, Denis Hurley (Capt.), Ronan O'Mahony; Ian Keatley, Duncan Williams; John Ryan, Eusebio Guinazu, BJ Botha; Donncha O'Callaghan, Billy Holland; Sean Dougall, Dave O'Callaghan, Jack O'Donoghue.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Dave Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer, Shane Buckley, Paddy Butler, Neil Cronin, Rory Scannell, Ivan Dineen.
Ireland international Kieran Marmion returns to the Connacht side for Sunday’s Guinness PRO12 clash with Scarlets.
Marmion has returned to club duty to take his place at scrum-half for his 65th Connacht appearance, while Jack Carty starts at out-half for the 15th time this season.
Darragh Leader shifts from wing to fullback with Niyi Adeolokun and Matt Healy starting on the wings in a back line with an average age of just under 24.
In the centre, this season's top try scorer Danie Poolman is named to start outside Dave McSharry who recently committed two more years to the province.
Up front, the front row is boosted by the return of tight-head prop Nathan White who plays his first PRO12 game since October.
Jake Heenan makes his long awaited return since his injury in round one of the competition and starts in a back row with captain John Muldoon and Number 8 George Naoupu.
From the bench Eoghan Masterson and Tiernan O'Halloran are in line to make their season debut while it would be a first cap for outhalf Shane O'Leary if he was called upon.
Commenting on the team selection and the upcoming game, head coach Pat Lam said: "We lost Eoin (McKeon) and Mils (Muliaina) to injury which was obviously a big blow especially on top of the loss of another back row in Willie (Faloon). But with these guys going down, it's good to welcome back Jake (Heenan) and Tiernan (O'Halloran) from long-term injuries.
"This is a huge game for us against a well-coached and quality side in Scarlets. We know they are breathing right behind us and like us, they have top six aspirations. We haven't won on their soil since 2004 and we've never won at Parc y Scarlets. We've challenged ourselves to take it to another level for this block of four games, and it must start with a performance this Sunday."
Connacht: Leader, Adeolokun, Poolman, McSharry, Healy, Carty, Marmion; Buckley, McCartney, White, Roux, Muldowney, Muldoon (Capt), Heenan, Naoupu.
Replacements: Heffernan, Cooney, Ah You, Dillane, Masterson, Porter, O'Leary, O'Halloran.
