Sean O'Brien is back in the Leinster XV for the first time since December of last year.

Sean O'Brien is back in the Leinster XV for the first time since December of last year.

SEAN O’BRIEN HAS been declared fit and ready to start blindside for LEINSTER in their final regular season game against Edinburgh.

The back-row, as predicted by TheScore.ie this morning, is included in the Leinster XV to face the Scots at the RDS on Saturday. He is named in a full-strength Leinster team that also features Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy.

Jordi Murphy will start at openside while Jamie Heaslip is in at No.8. O’Brien has not played for five months following surgery on a shoulder he dislocated against Ulster

Leinster (v Edinburgh): Kirchner; McFadden, O’Driscoll, D’Arcy, Kearney; Gopperth, Boss; McGrath, Strauss, Ross; Cullen, McCarthy; O’Brien, Murphy, Heaslip.

MUNSTER have made 10 changes from the side that destroyed Edinburgh at Meggetland last Saturday. Conor Murray, JJ Hanrahan, Tommy O’Donnell and Keith Earls are all being held in reserve, with the playoff semi-finals in mind. Damien Varley captains a side that contains forward stalwarts Paul O’Connell and James Coughlan.

Munster (v Ulster): Jones; van den Heever, Laulala, Downey, Zebo; Keatley, Williams; Kilcoyne, Varle (c), Ryan; Foley, O’Connell; Butler, Dougall, Coughlan.

Dan Tuohy will captain ULSTER, against Munster, at Thomond Park. The Ireland international second-row has captained Ulster for brief periods in matches before, but this interprovincial clash will be the first time that he has lead the province from the start of a game, something which the 28 year-old views as a huge honour. He said:

Mark Anscombe pulled me to one side on Monday and said that I was going to captain the team – I was delighted. For me, I am just going to concentrate on my own game, get the lads behind me and hopefully we can put in a decent performance tomorrow night.”

Ulster (v Munster): Gilroy; McIlwaine, Allen, McCloskey, Scholes; McKinney, Heaney; Black, Herring, Warwick; Stevenson, Tuohy (c), McComish, Doyle, Williams.

Connacht hooker Dave Heffernan starts against Ospreys. Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

CONNACHT have also named their starting XV for the visit to Liberty Stadium and their season-ender with Ospreys. Dave Heffernan starts at hooker following the news of Jason Harris-Wright’s six-month injury lay-off [shoulder]. Conor Gilsenan will play his final Pro12 game for a while as he signs off his loan spell from Leinster before relocating to the Premiership and London Irish.

Connacht (v Ospreys): Leader; Poolman, Griffin, McSharry, Healy; Nikora, Marmion; Buckley, Heffernan, Loughney, Muldowney, Kearney; Browne, Gilsenan, Muldoon (c).