Leinster have been dealt a major double boost in their bid to end their four-year trophy drought when they tackle the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship (URC) final.

That is the return of British and Irish Lions squad members Josh van der Flier and Garry Ringrose, who return to the starting XV having recovered from hamstring and calf injuries, respectively.

No Keenan or Furlong

Ringrose replaces Jamie Osborne, who scored twice in the 37-19 URC semi-final victory over the Glasgow Warriors, as he starts alongside All Black Jordie Barrett in the centres.

Osborne drops to the bench, which means that Ciaran Frawley, who scored last week, falls out of the matchday 23.

Van der Flier’s return sees Scott Penny miss the final entirely as the Lions call-up lines up alongside captain Jack Conan and last week’s man of the match Ryan Baird in the loose trio.

Hugo Keenan has not recovered from his calf issue in time to make the team, so Jimmy O’Brien retains his starting role at full-back and is flanked by wingers James Lowe and Tommy O’Brien.

Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast are the starting half-backs once again with departing fly-half Ross Byrne set to earn his 186th and final appearance for Leinster off the bench. Luke McGrath and Osborne are the other two backline replacements in the traditional 5-3 split.

In the pack, Tadhg Furlong is not available as Leinster name an unchanged starting front-row of props Andrew Porter and Thomas Clarkson as well as hooker Dan Sheehan.

Joe McCarthy and James Ryan partner up in the second-row with RG Snyman providing impact on the bench with front-rowers Ronan Kelleher, Jack Boyle and Rabah Slimani and loose forward Max Deegan.

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Leinster team v Bulls

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jamie Osborne

Venue: Croke Park, Dublin
Kick-off: 17:00 UK / 18:00 SAST
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 55th league game)
Assistants: Mike Adamson (SRU) and Sam Grove-White (SRU)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
Live on: TG4, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

READ MORE: Willie le Roux: Bulls playing for a ‘bigger purpose’ in the URC final and are motivated by fallen Springbok Cornal Hendricks

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/leinster-team-double-british-and-irish-lions-boost-as-irish-province-aim-to-end-trophy-drought-against-the-bulls