| Venue: Cardiff Arms Park Date: Saturday, 29 January Kick-off:GMT 19:35 |
| Coverage:Live on S4C. Report on BBC Sport website & app. |
Wales back row James Botham is healthy and will be starting in Cardiff’s United Rugby Championships (URC) match against Leinster this Saturday
Botham, who was able to sustain a head injuryDuring the Edinburgh loss earlier in the month, will play number 8.
Cardiff undergo seven changes total, as they’re without a lot of players who were called up for the Six Nations Wales squad.
In the absence of their Ireland players, reigning champions Leinster also ring for the changes
Leinster can still field an international team, as they have for years.
Luke McGrath (scrum-half) is one of them. Ross Byrne is next to him at flyhalf.
Ireland flanker Rhys Ruddock (hooker) and hooker Sean Cronin (hooker) add more experience to the pack, while Joe McCarthy makes his debut in the second row.
McCarthy, a former Blackrock College student who impressed at Dublin University, starts alongside Devin Toner as the appearance record-holder for Leinster, who now has 272 games.
Cardiff can still name 14 internationals, even though they are without players from Wales like Josh Adams, Ellis Jenkins, and Willis Halaholo.
Lloyd Williams, Scrum-half, is recalled to join Jarrod Evans, a fellow Wales international at half-back.
In Halaholo’s absence Ben Thomas joins Rey Lee Lo in midfield, and Adams is replaced on the wing by Aled Summerhill.
Prop Corey Domachowski is in the front row. Rory Thornton joins Josh Turnbull as captain, and Shane Lewis Hughes and Will Boyde join Botham at the back row.
Rhys Carre and Dillon Lewis, props from Wales’ Six Nations team this weekend, are now on the bench.
If Leinster wins in Cardiff and Edinburgh, they could be the top URC team if Ospreys loses at Ospreys on Saturday.
The Irish Province, which has not lost an away fixture since last season’s campaign, has won all 16 matches against Cardiff.
However, all three URC wins for the Welsh side this season came at Arms Park.
Cardiff: Amos; Lane; Lee-Lo; Thomas, Summerhill. Evans, L Williams. Domachowski. Myhill. Arhip. Turnbull. Thornton. Lewis Hughes. Boyde. Botham.
Replacements: Daniel, Carre, Lewis, T Williams, Moore, Hill, Llewellyn, Smith.
Leinster: J O’Brien. A Byrne. Osborne. Frawley. O’Loughlin. R Byrne. McGrath. Capt. E Byrne. S Cronin. Ala’alatoa. Toner. J McCarthy. Ruddock. Connors. Penny.
Replacements: Tracy, Dooley, Abdaladze, Molony, Deegan, N McCarthy, H Byrne, T O’Brien.
Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young “We are struggling to gain any momentum at the moment. It will be interesting for us to see where the weekend goes after not playing.
“One of the things it does is to focus the mind on Leinster.
“It will provide a great challenge and something we have talked about as a team.
“Over the next month there is a lot of pressure to achieve results. We are only as strong as our performances and whether or not we have internationals involved.
Match officials
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU).
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (WRU), and Aled Evans
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU).
