Byrne and Smyth named to start for Leinster and Leinster 'A' as part of massive double-header 

BKT United Rugby Championship 

Leinster v Lions 

Saturday, 5.30pm, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 

Leo Cullen has named Carlow's Ed Byrne in his starting XV as Leinster host the Lions tomorrow evening at the Aviva. 

The game will have massive implications on the URC playoffs, with Leinster and the Lions each vying for a home quarter-final.

Leinster currently sit in fourth place, one spot behind the Lions, with both sides on 53 points and separated by points difference alone, with Leinster needing to make up a 23-point difference to overtake their South African counterparts.

Victory for either side could see them climb all the way to the top of the table depending on results elsewhere, while defeat could see either side dropping as low as seventh.

That would leave them in a precarious position with just one game remaining after this weekend in the URC's round robin.

The 'race for the eight' is as finely poised as it has ever been in the competition's history and culminates next weekend, with Leinster at home to the Ospreys, who are already out of contention, while the Lions travel to Limerick to face a Munster side who could be above them in the table by then.

LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Joshua Kenny, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, Jimmy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath; Ed Byrne, John McKee, Thomas Clarkson; Brian Deeny, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Will Connors, James Culhane.

Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, Rabah Slimani, Diarmuid Mangan, Scott Penny, Fintan Gunne, Hugh Cooney, Hugo Keenan.

IRFU Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship 

Leinster A v Ulster A

Saturday, 1pm, Energia Park, Dublin 

Leinster A Head Coach, Simon Broughton, has named Carlow's Stephen Smyth in his starting XV to face Ulster A tomorrow afternoon in Energia Park.

The game is part of the IRFU Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship, with plenty of fresh new faces set to get their opportunity to impress their coaches.

LEINSTER: Hugo McLaughlin; Henry McErlean, Jack Deegan, Ciarán Mangan, Andrew Osborne; Caspar Gabriel, Cormac Foley; Alex Mullan, Stephen Smyth, Andrew Sparrow; Conor O'Tighearnaigh, Mahon Ronan; Billy Corrigan, Inigo Cruise-O’Brien, Josh Ericson.

Replacements: Rian Handley, Max Doyle, Niall Smyth, Artur Symkovskiy, Sean Walsh, Tadhg Brophy, Tom Larke, Johnny O’Sullivan, Charlie Molony, Paddy Moore.