Leinster boss Leo Cullen has been able to recall a number of Irish internationals unavailable to him last weekend ahead of facing Wasps in the Champions Cup quarter-final.
However there is continuity in the back three with Joey Carbery, Adam Byrne and captain Isa Nacewa again selected.
In the centre Cullen is able to recall Irish duo Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose as a partnership for the ninth time in blue this season, having played together most recently as the first choice Irish centre pairing during the Six Nations.
At half-back Luke McGrath and Johnny Sexton resume where they left off in the closing stages against England in the Aviva two weeks ago.
Jack McGrath and Tadhg Furlong come into the front row with hooker Richardt Strauss completing an all-Irish front row. In the second row Devin Toner comes back to partner Hayden Triggs.
In the back row Dan Leavy is selected at blind side flanker, with Seán O’Brien at open side and the fit again Jack Conan at number eight.
Meanwhie, Wasps welcome back England internationals Joe Launchbury, Elliot Daly and Nathan Hughes, alongside James Haskell who made his club return last Sunday against Worcester Warriors.
Daly will join an otherwise unchanged backline, when he lines up outside Jimmy Gopperth who is set to make his 50th Wasps appearance this Saturday. Kurtley Beale, Christian Wade and Willie Le Roux are the back three, with Danny Cipriani and Dan Robson the half backs.
Matt Mullan, Tommy Taylor and Jake Cooper-Woolley start in Wasps front row, with Simon McIntyre, Ashley Johnson and Marty Moore ready to provide reinforcement from the bench.
Skipper Joe Launchbury and Kearnan Myall form the second row partnership, with Haskell packing down as blindside flanker, Thomas Young on the openside and Nathan Hughes at number eight. Matt Symons and Alex Rieder are named among the replacements, with Joe Simpson, Alapati Leiua and Josh Bassett also looking forward to making an impact from the bench.
Ahead of the European Quarter Final, Wasps’ Director of Rugby Dai Young said: “As you can imagine, we are all really looking forward to the contest in Dublin this weekend. These are the games you want to be involved in and work hard all season to reach.
“Two quality teams going head-to-head in front of nigh on 50,000 people, so it will be a fantastic occasion for players, coaches and fans.
“We know the majority will be behind Leinster, but I’m sure we will also have fantastic travelling support, like we always do. It should be a great atmosphere and the type of occasion that players will be excited by and thrive on. It’s a challenge you run into, not away from.
“Leinster have half the Irish pack and half the Irish backs, so they’re pretty formidable that’s for sure. We’re also confident in our own abilities and competition for places has been so high that there have been a number of tight selection calls. In some cases, calls could have gone either way but that’s where we want to be as a squad, approaching our games as a 23-man squad.
“It will be important to get off to a good start in Dublin, but equally as important is having a strong bench who can come on and make a big impact, to help finish a game strongly and that’s what we’ve gone for this weekend. We know there are no second chances in knock-out rugby, so we will need to be at our absolute best and play the game we want to play if we’re to get a result.”
Form: This will be the eighth meeting between the clubs in the European Cup. Wasps hold the head-to-head advantage having won four of the previous seven (D1, L2). Wasps won both pool stage matches against Leinster last season, and their 51-10 victory at the Ricoh Arena remains Leinster’s heaviest European defeat. Leinster won their three home games in the pool stage by an average margin of 40 points, while Wasps won just one of their three away games (D1, L1, won v Zebre).
Saturday will be Wasps’ 100th fixture in the European Cup (W63, D3, L33). The 2004 and ’07 winners are the 12th club to reach a century of matches. Leinster scored the most tries and points in the pool stage with 31 and 227 respectively, and their captain, Isa Nacewa, is the leading try scorer with six. This is the seventh time Wasps have reached the knockout stage. Leinster have qualified for the knockout stage for the 12th time (W7, L4) and have won five of their last six quarter-final matches. The three-time champions won all 35 scrums on their own feed in the pool stage, and were the only side with 100 percent success rate.
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Joey Carbery, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Isa Nacewa (c), 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Seán O’Brien, 6 Dan Leavy, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Fergus McFadden, 23 Zane Kirchne
Wasps: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Willie Le Roux, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Matt Symons, 20 Alex Rieder, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Alapati Leiua, 23 Josh Bassett
Date: Saturday, April 1
Venue: RDS Arena, Dublin
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Ian Davies (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
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