Leinster lock James Ryan says the defending champions are bracing themselves for a physical challenge when they travel to Benetton in the Guinness PRO14 on Saturday.
Garry Ringrose will skipper the Blues, in what's their first away fixture since late February. Robbie Henshaw joins Ringrose in midfield with Jamison Gibson-Park and Ross Byrne partnered in the half-backs.
Caelan Doris, Will Connors and Jack Conan are the back-row with Ed Byrne, James Tracy and Michael Bent forming the front-row and Ryan Baird and James Ryan in the second-row.
“In terms of playing away from home, like always, I think physically you’ve got to front up, particularly this week,” Ryan told Leinster's website ahead of jetting out to Italy.
“They’ve a team of huge physical men. I think when we played them in the RDS last season in Europe, we had something like 20 ineffective rucks.
“They go hard with the ball, strong in the set-piece as well so I think if we’re not strong in the contact and strong in those areas, it could be a long day for us.”
In the absence of the injured Andrew Porter, Ireland under-20 internationalTom Clarkson gets the chance to impress from the bench.
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