Dragons v Leinster: Teams
Dragons head coach Paul Turner has made five changes to the side that lost to Edinburgh last Friday.
Last Updated: 15/05/09 1:47pm
Dragons head coach Paul Turner has made five changes to the side that lost to Edinburgh last Friday.
Gareth Wyatt and Richard Fussell come in on the wings with Phil Dollman starting in the centres and Adam Black in the front row. Craig Hill gets a second start for the region alongside Dan Lydiate.
Newport Gwent Dragons have won just one of their last six matches - their only success being a 27-14 win over Connacht at Rodney Parade on 26 April.
They have a strong record at Rodney Parade, though, with three wins from their last four games against Irish opponents, but have won just once in five meetings with Saturday's opposition.
Strength
Meanwhile, Rob Kearney returns to the Leinster starting line-up and takes his place in a backline that features Girvan Dempsey at full-back and Simon Keogh on the right wing.
There are two debutants in centre Kyle Tonetti and fly-half Ian McKinley, who are the latest players to be promoted from the Leinster academy.
Tonetti partners Fergus McFadden, who is in line to make his seventh appearance of the season.
In the pack Devin Toner partners Trevor Hogan, while Kevin McLaughlin forms a strong back-row alongside Sean O'Brien and Stephen Keogh who captains the side.
Four further academy players could be set to make their debuts from the replacements bench and are named alongside the most recent graduate Paul O'Donohoe, who impressed for Clontarf in last weekend's AIL Division One final.
Leinster have won their last three games in all competitions since their 16-27 reversal at Edinburgh in the Magners League on 17 April.
And their only defeat to a Welsh team in their last 13 encounters was 26-31 in the reverse fixture against the Dragons in round 18 last year.
Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Gareth Wyatt, 13 Rhodri Gomer Davies, 12 Phil Dollman, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Craig Hill, 7 Lewis Evans, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Andrew Hall, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Tom Willis (capt.), 1 Adam Black
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Nigel Hall, 18 Huw Gustafson, 19 Grant Webb, 20 Aled Brew, 21 James Arlidge, 22 Alex Walker.
Leinster: 15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Simon Keogh, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Kyle Tonetti, 11 Rob Kearney, 10 Ian McKinley, 9 Chris Keane, 8 Stephen Keogh (c), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Trevor Hogan, 3 Stephen Knoop, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Ronan McCormack.
Replacements: 16 Brian Blaney, 17 Jamie Hagan, 18 Cameron Jowitt, 19 Paul Ryan, 20 Paul O'Donohoe, 21 Ian Madigan, 22 David Kearney.