Declan Kidney has named his starting fifteen ahead of Friday night s clash with Leicester Tigers in Musgrave Park (KO 7pm). Frank Sheahan, who injured himself in the opening round of the Heineken Cup last October, makes a welcome return to the side.

15. Christian Cullen, 14. John Kelly, 13. Tom Gleeson, 12. James Downey, 11. Ian Dowling, 10. Jeremy Manning, 9. Chris Delooze, 1. Eugene McGovern, 2. Frank Sheahan, 3. Federico Pucciariello, 4. Chris Wyatt, 5. Donnacha Ryan, 6. James Coughlan, 7. Brendan Cuttriss, 8. John O Sullivan

Replacements: Tim Ryan, Sean Cronin, Darragh Ryan, Ross Noonan, Shane O Connor, Tomas O Leary, Shaun Payne, Mossy Lawlor, Eoghan Hickey, Ciaran O Boyle