The final game of the season, and the last hurrah for a lot of big names, is the Rabo final at the RDS. Here’s the two teams that Ulster and Leinster will send out tomorrow.
There’s no shortage of storylines here. Ulster look to end an emotional season with a trophy while Leinster look to send Joe Schmidt, Isa Nacewa and Jonny Sexton off with one more medal.
Add in the fact that Ulster have beaten Leinster twice in the league this year and that Leinster have lost the last three Rabo finals in a row and you have a match that is perfectly set up to be a classic.
The big team news for Leinster is that Sean O’Brien doesn’t make the team and isn’t even fit enough for the bench. Brian O’Driscoll has recovered, though, to take his place in the centre beside Ian Madigan.
Ulster are boosted by the return of John Afoa to the front row and the rest of Mark Anscombe’s team lines out as expected.
As we have seen this year, there is little between these two and we don’t expect this game to resemble the one-sided battering Leinster dished out in last season’s Heineken Cup final.
Kick-off at the RDS is at 4.45 tomorrow.
ULSTER: J Payne; A Trimble, D Cave, S Olding, T Bowe; P Jackson, R Pienaar; T Court, R Best, J Afoa; J Muller (capt), D Tuohy; R Diack, C Henry, N Williams. Replacements: R Herring, C Black, D Fitzpatrick, I Henderson, M McComish, P Marshall, M Allen, P Nelson.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; F McFadden, B O’Driscoll, I Madigan, I Nacewa; J Sexton, I Boss; C Healy, R Strauss, M Ross; L Cullen (capt), D Toner; K McLaughlin, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin, J McGrath, J Hagan, Q Roux, R Ruddock, J Cooney, A Goodman, A Conway
