Leinster v Brive: Teams

Heineken Cup holders Leinster will be craving a bonus-point victory over basement side Brive at the RDS.

The French outfit have yet to pick up a single point in Pool Six of the competition but have named a fairly strong team to take on the reigning champions in Dublin on Saturday.

Ugo Mola has opted to stick with Jamie Noon, Nicolas Jeanjean, Horacio Agulla while Antoine Claassen, Alix Popham and Steve Thompson continue up front.

France starlet Alexis Palisson is given the week off however, while Andy Goode remains on the sidelines.

Sexton returns

Meanwhile, Shane Horgan will become the first Leinster player to reach the 75 Heineken Cup appearance landmark and the winger is named in a back-line which features six Ireland internationals for the visit of the French side.

Brian O'Driscoll partners Gordon D'Arcy at centre, with Eoin Reddan lining up at half-back alongside the returning Jonathan Sexton who, alongside prop Cian Healy, will make their 50th appearances for the province.

In the pack, Healy is named in the front row alongside hooker John Fogarty and Stan Wright, with Leo Cullen leading the side. Shane Jennings starts in the back-row alongside Kevin McLaughlin and Jamie Heaslip.

South African international CJ van der Linde has recovered from injury to take his place on a strong looking bench which includes Ireland internationals Girvan Dempsey, Bernard Jackman, Sean O'Brien, Malcolm O'Kelly and Mike Ross.

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Leo Cullen (c), 3 Stan Wright, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Bernard Jackman, 17 Mike Ross, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Malcolm O'Kelly, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Paul O'Donohoe, 22 Shaun Berne, 23 Girvan Dempsey.

Brive: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Nicolas Jeanjean, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Lachlan Mackay, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 8 Antoine Claassen, 7 Fabien Domingo, 6 Alix Popham, 5 Damien Browne, 4 Retief Uys, 3 Pascal Idieder, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Pablo Henn.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Ribes, 17 Petrisor Toderasc, 18 Christian Short, 19 Simon Azoulai, 20 Shaun Perry, 21 Viliame Waqaseduadua, 22 Régis Bianco, 23 Pat Barnard.