Frawley, Molony and Larmour return for understrength Leinster as Stormers roll out their Springboks

As expected, Leo Cullen is without his Grand Slam contingent for tomorrow night’s top of the table United Rugby Championship clash against the Stormers.

he South Africans, however, welcome their Springbok contingent back after they were stood down for a rest period during the Six Nations, with the likes of Steven Kisthoff, Frans Malherbe, Damian Willemse and Deon Fourie all named to start for the champions.

Leinster can secure top spot in the URC with a win. They’re currently 12 points clear of the Stormers with three to play, but are in South Africa for the last two games of the season.

With the Heineken Champions Cup last 16 clash with Ulster a week away, this is a big chance for fringe members of the squad to impress.

Jordan Larmour, Ross Molony and Ciaran Frawley are the three members of the Ireland squad who are available for Leinster, who welcome Ed Byrne back from injury on the bench.

Larmour plays at full-back for the first time since the win over Munster in May last year, with Frawley back at inside centre as Harry Byrne continues at out-half.

In all, there are nine internationals in the starting XV for the hosts, while Michael Milne and Scott Penny trained with Ireland during the Six Nations

Leinster will be tested up front, with John McKee at hooker alongside Milne and Michael Ala’alatoa, with Molony partnering Springbok Jason Jenkins in the second-row.

Behind them, Penny joins captain Rhys Ruddock and Max Deegan in the back-row, with Luke McGrath partnering Byrne at out-half.

Frawley plays alongside Liam Turner in midfield, with Larmour flanked by Rob Russell and Dave Kearney on the wings.

On the bench, Vakh Abdaladze returns after his exploits with Georgia in the last few months, while Will Connors is another experienced addition.

LEINSTER – J Larmour; R Russell, L Turner, C Frawley, D Kearney; H Byrne, L McGrath; M Milne, J McKee, M Ala’alatoa; R Molony, J Jenkins; R Ruddock, S Penny, M Deegan. Reps: L Barron, E Byrne, V Abdaladze, B Deeny, W Connors, N McCarthy, C Tector, B Brownlee.

STORMERS – C Blommetjies; S Hartzenberg, D du Plessis, D Willemse, S Senatla; M Libbok, P de Wet; S Kitshoff (capt), J Dweba, F Malherbe; R van Heerden, M Orie; D Fourie, BJ Dixon, J Dayimani. Reps: JJ Kotze, B Harris, N Fouche, E van Rhyn, W Engelbrecht, M Theunissen, H Jantjies, JL du Plessis.