Leinster full-back Rob Kearney has been ruled out of Leinster's Pro12 clash with Ulster at the RDS tonight.
Kearney felt a tightness in his hamstring after the captain's run on Thursday and, despite intensive treatment, head coach Leo Cullen has made the call to leave the Ireland international out of the squad. Isa Nacewa will now come in at full-back.
Kearney's late withdrawal is a blow for Cullen, who has talked up the importance of the province getting back on track after a rocky spell.
“The players and all the management feel a huge responsibility in terms of preparing the team and getting a good performance out of ourselves because we know that the last couple of week we haven’t been good enough,” Cullen told RTÉ Sport.
Here is the updated team to face @UlsterRugby tonight at @TheRDS Arena. #LEINvULS pic.twitter.com/8M5Omzi928
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) November 27, 2015
“We know that we can’t let a team like Ulster build a lead. Anytime you let a team build a lead they get comfortable and it’s easier defending then, so we need to make sure that we manage the game a bit better.”
It's a landmark night for Ruan Pienaar and Zane Kirchner as they hit milestones for Ulster and Leinster respectively.
Pienaar will make his 100th appearance for Ulster, with Kirchner clocking up his 50th game for Leinster.
Leinster: Isa Nacewa, Zane Kirchner, Ben Te'o, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald, Johnny Sexton, Luke McGrath; Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Tadhg Furlong, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Rhys Ruddock, Josh van der Flier, Jamie Heaslip (Capt)
Replacements: James Tracy, Peter Dooley, Martin Moore, Ross Molony, Dominic Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Noel Reid, Garry Ringrose
Ulster: Peter Nelson, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar; Kyle McCall, Rory Best (Capt), Wiehahn Herbst, Iain Henderson, Dan Tuohy, Robbie Diack, Sean Reidy, Nick Williams
Replacements: Rob Herring, Andrew Warwick, Ricky Lutton, Roger Wilson, Chris Henry, Paul Marshall, Ian Humphreys, Louis Ludik
