Ospreys v Leinster: Teams
Nathan Hines and Eoin Reddan will make their first starts for Leinster in Friday's clash against the Ospreys.
Last Updated: 04/10/09 6:29pm
Nathan Hines and Eoin Reddan will make their first starts for Leinster in Friday's Magners League game against the Ospreys in Swansea.
Scotland international Hines partners Malcolm O'Kelly at second row, while in the front row Stan Wright lines up alongside Cian Healy and John Fogarty.
Ireland scrum-half Reddan partners Jonathan Sexton in a backline which also sees Gordon D'Arcy come in for his first start of the season.
The back three of David Kearney, Shane Horgan and Isa Nacewa remains the same from the one that started last weekend's 23-14 victory over the Dragons. The replacements bench will be confirmed closer to kick-off.
"The Ospreys will prove to be a stiff test for us coming, as it does, after having lost their last game at home to Ulster," said Nacewa.
"Like us they have a proud record at home and I'm sure that they'll be determined to get back to winning ways so we'll need to be focused and wary of them.
Bowe starts
"I'm definitely pleased with Leinster's form after the first two games. As a squad we felt that had we been a bit more clinical against the Scarlets in week one then we could have won that game and though the Dragons were tough opponents, we showed definite improvements last weekend in the RDS.
"We've seen a fair bit of the Ospreys in recent weeks and they're an extremely talented side. Friday's game will have a Super 14 feel to it with Jerry Collins, Filo Tiatia and Marty Holah.
"They're three top class performers and I've played against them back in New Zealand. It will be a real battle up front to match them, but we know that the Ospreys have a lot of other threats."
Meanwhile Andrew Bishop makes his 100th Ospreys appearance, while Lee Byrne will play for the first time since the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
Fellow Lion Tommy Bowe makes his first start after coming off the bench last Saturday, while Alun-Wyn Jones is named among the replacements.
"We're disappointed with the game went last weekend, we're disappointed with the way we played, there's no other way of saying it," said Ospreys director of rugby Scott Johnson on last week's home defeat to Ulster.
"There won't be any knee-jerk reactions here though, we can't change everything we are trying to do here on the back of one game and one poor performance, that would just be crazy and would get us nowhere in the long term.
"If you look at results so far this season, not just in the Magners but in England as well, other sides have had disappointing results already, but those teams aren't tearing everything up and starting again, and neither are we."
Ospreys: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 James Hook, 9 Jamie Nutbrown, 8 Tom Smith, 7 Marty Holah (c), 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Jonathan Thomas, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Alun-Wyn Jones, 19 Filo Tiatia, 20 Mike Phillips, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Gareth Owen.
Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Gordon D'Arcy, 12 Shaun Berne, 11 David Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Sean O'Brien, 7 Shane Jennings (c), 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Stan Wright, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: Bernard Jackman, Mike Ross, Leo Cullen, Devin Toner, Stephen Keogh, Chris Keane, Fergus McFadden, Simon Keogh.