Isa Nacewa to lead Leinster for final time; Leigh Halfpenny back for Scarlets

Isa Nacewa is to captain Leinster in what will be his 185th and final appearance for the province.

Isa Nacewa to lead Leinster for final time; Leigh Halfpenny back for Scarlets

Isa Nacewa is to captain Leinster in what will be his 185th and final appearance for the province.

Leo Cullen has named Garry Ringrose to join Nacewa in the centre, while the back three sees Rob Kearney come back into the number 15 jersey with Jordan Larmour on the right wing and James Lowe on the left.

In the half-backs, Luke McGrath is selected at scrumhalf with Johnny Sexton back at number 10.

In the pack, it’s the same front five that started the Champions Cup Final with Cian Healy, Seán Cronin and Tadhg Furlong in the front row and Devin Toner and James Ryan in the second.

In the back row, Rhys Ruddock is selected at blindside with Dan Leavy back from injury on the openside. Finally, Jack Conan is named at No. 8.

For the Scarlets, Wales centre Hadleigh Parkes will make his 100th regional appearance on Saturday evening.

Fullback Leigh Halfpenny returns from a hamstring injury that saw him miss last weekend’s semi-final victory over Glasgow Warriors.

Johnny McNicholl, who made a return from injury in time for last weekend’s clash, moves to the wing with Tom Prydie moving to the replacements bench.

With John Barclay unavailable following surgery to a ruptured Achilles tendon Wayne Pivac has made changes to the pack.

Tadhg Beirne moves to number eight, partnering James Davies and Aaron Shingler in the back row. Lewis Rawlins comes in to the second row to partner Steve Cummins whilst the front row remains unchanged.

Leinster team

15. Rob Kearney; 14. Jordan Larmour; 13. Garry Ringrose; 12. Isa Nacewa (CAPTAIN(; 11. James Lowe; 10. Johnny Sexton; 9. Luke McGrath; 1. Cian Healy; 2. Seán Cronin; 3. Tadhg Furlong; 4. Devin Toner; 5. James Ryan; 6. Rhys Ruddock; 7. Dan Leavy; 8. Jack Conan

Replacements:

16. James Tracy; 17. Jack McGrath; 18. Andrew Porter; 19. Scott Fardy; 20. Jordi Murphy; 21. Nick McCarthy; 22. Joey Carbery; 23. Rory O’Loughlin

Scarlets team

15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Johnny Mcnicholl, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 1 Rob Evans, 2 Ken Owens ©, 3 Samson Lee, 4 Lewis Rawlins, 5 Steve Cummins, 6 Aaron Shingler, 7 James Davies, 8 Tadhg Beirne

Replacements; Ryan Elias, Wyn Jones, Werner Kruger, David Bulbring, Will Boyde, Jonathan Evans, Dan Jones, Tom Prydie

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