Sport

Leinster vs Connacht Preview

Leinster and Connacht lock horns on New Years day in the other inter-provincal clash on Sunday.

Andy Friend's Connacht travel to Dublin to take on table toppers Leinster in the RDS this weekend.

The game kicks off at 7:35pm on Sunday night.

Here's more details ahead of the game.

Dublin , Ireland - 15 April 2022; James Lowe of Leinster on his way to scoring his side's eighth try during the Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16 Second Leg match between Leinster and Connacht at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

When is it on?

Sunday 1st January

What TV station is it on?.

The game is live on RTÉ TV, RTÉ Radio and URC TV

What time does it start?

Kick off is at 7.35pm Irish time

What time does coverage start?

The coverage starts from 7.oopm

Where is it on?

RDS Arena, Dublin

Odds for the game

https://oddspedia.com/rugby-union/leinster-connacht-330999

Tickets for the game

Tickets can be found here

Teams for the game

Leinster

Fullback: 15. Jimmy O’Brien

Winger: 14. Jordan Larmour

Centres 13. Liam Turner , 12. Charlie Ngatai

Winger: 11. Rob Russell

Outhalf:10. Johnny Sexton , Scrumhalf: 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

Front row: 1. Michael Milne. 2. Rónan Kelleher. 3. Michael Ala’alatoa

Second row: 4. Brian Deeny 5. James Ryan

Back row: 6. Ryan Baird. 7. Josh van der Flier. 8. Caelan Doris

Replacements: 16. John McKee, 17. Marcus Hanan, 18. Vakhtang Abdaladze, 19. Alex Soroka, 20. Scott Penny, 21. Cormac Foley, 22. Harry Byrne. 23. Jamie Osborne

Connacht

Fullback: 15. Tiernan O’Halloran

Winger: 14. Diarmuid Kilgallen

Centres: 13. Tom Farrell, 12. David Hawkshaw

Winger: 11. John Porch

Out half: 10. Jack Carty (C), Scrumhalf: 9. Caolin Blade

Front row: 1. Peter Dooley , 2. Dave Heffernan, 3. Dominic Robertson-McCoy

Second Row 4. Darragh Murray, 5. Niall Murray

Back row: 6. Cian Prendergast, 7. Shamus Hurley-Langton, 8. Jarrad Butler.

Replacements: 16. Shane Delahunt, 17. Denis Buckley, 18. Sam Illo, 19. Oisín Dowling, 20. Conor Oliver, 21. Kieran Marmion, 22. Tom Daly , 23. Byron Ralston.

Where are both teams in their domestic tables?

Leinster are top of the league

Connacht sit in 12th.

What happened last time the sides met ?

Leinster won 0-10 in Galway last October

What have the people said ?

Director of Rugby Andy Friend says: “There’s no bigger challenge in the URC than the one we have on Sunday night and it’s one we’ll relish. The performance against Ulster wasn’t good enough but if we cut out our unforced errors and play like we did in those final 20 minutes it’ll give us every chance of a win.

Unfortunately we’re missing a few players through illness but this is a great opportunity to see the benefits of the depth within the squad, which is the best it’s been in my 5 years here.”

See More: Connacht, Leinster, United Rugby Championshio