Top of the league Leinster welcomes eighth-seed Sharks to Dublin this weekend. Despite the Irish team being strong favourites entering this tie, everything is possible and the Sharks will aim to cause a huge upset at the Aviva. Here is everything you need to know about Leinster v Sharks.
Leinster only suffered one defeat in all competitions this season. That defeat came in the last game day of the regular URC season against the Bulls. However, Leo Cullen gave his best team a rest as they came back to hammer Toulouse in the semi final of the Champions Cup.
The Sharks have had a very up and down season. A series of wins were followed by a series of defeats and it repeated itself throughout the whole year. Nevertheless, not being consistent wasn't a problem for them as they managed to make it to both URC and Champions Cup knockout stages
When is Leinster v Sharks?
The match will be played on Saturday the 6th of May at 5pm in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
How to watch Leinster v Sharks?
RTE 2 will broadcast the game live on air from 4.30pm ahead of the 5pm kickoff.
Form Guide
Leinster enter this fixture after comfortably finishing first in the regular season. They got the best spot possible entering these playoffs as they will play the lowest ranked team in the table and the game will be at home in Dublin. They were undefeated all season in both URC and Champions Cup however in the last round of the URC they lost 62-7 against the Bulls in South Africa.
In the Champions Cup they walked over French side Toulouse to make it to the final against La Rochelle. The final will also be held in the Aviva stadium on may the 20th. In an eight try game thriller, Leinster beat Toulouse 41-22 to secure themselves a return to the final of the European cup.
The Durban side managed to make it to knockout stages of the URC despite a difficult season. Their URC season record is nine wins, eight defeats and one draw, it shows how much they struggled to make it to the playoffs. Nevertheless they had a great start to their European campaign. They finished third of Group A and even beat Munster in the round of 16 of the Champions Cup. They unfortunately lost to Toulouse in the quarter finals. A big 54-20 defeat would end their European journey.
Their last result was a 22-22 draw to Munster in the URC. It was enough to not drop out of the top eight and earn themselves a place in the URC playoffs.
Team News
Leo Cullen named his team to play the Sharks on Friday afternoon and it includes nine changes from the Leinster team that hammered Toulouse a week ago. Ciarán Frawley starts at outside centre, while Harry Byrne and captain Luke McGrath make up the 9/10 partnership. Max Deegan and Scott Penny will start alongside Caelan Doris in the back row, while Michael Milne gets the nod at loosehead.
📥 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧...
Here is the #LeinsterRugby team to face @SharksRugby in tomorrow's #BKTURC Quarter-Finals in @AVIVAStadium #FromTheGroundUp #LEIvSHA pic.twitter.com/WYqHFFFLfM— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) May 5, 2023
SEE ALSO: Fans Accuse Josh Van Der Flier Of Play Acting To Milk Yellow Card Against Toulouse
