Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Ruben Moloney, Jack Carty, and Jacob Stockdale.INPHO Carty's Connacht, new face for Leinster, Stockdale's Ulster switch Three of the Irish provinces are in URC action today. 6.01am, 26 Apr 2025 Share options ANOTHER URC WEEKEND, another slate of intriguing fixtures as the jostling for play-off places escalates into pushing and shoving. Munster’s hopes were hit by a 26-21 defeat in Cardiff last night, while Edinburgh had a 25-25 draw away to Zebre, and last season’s finalists, Glasgow and the Bulls, had a battle in Scotstoun as Jake White’s men notched a 26-19 win on the road. There are five more important URC games ahead today, with Connacht, Leinster, and Ulster all in action. The Ospreys host the Dragons this afternoon, while Benetton’s visit to the Stormers could be a cracker. Lions v Connacht Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg KO 3pm Irish time, TG4/Premier Sports Connacht interim head coach Cullie Tucker.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO AT ONE STAGE this season, it looked like Jack Carty would be bidding farewell to Connacht during the summer. He wasn’t being offered a new deal and it seemed as if the Athlone man would be moving on. Things have changed recently. After nearly three months out of the matchday squad, Carty was catapulted back into the number 10 shirt last weekend and nearly guided Connacht to a stunning victory over the Stormers. The 32-year-old goes again at out-half today against the Lions as Connacht aim to rebound from the agonising nature of that defeat in Cape Town. It sounds as if Carty has now been offered a new contract and may well be staying into next season. He and Connacht must muster another big physical effort as they take on a Lions team who are in a low ebb. Their defeat at home to Benetton last time out involved a litany of errors that would have been almost comedic if they weren’t so infuriating. Interim Connacht boss Cullie Tucker has made six changes as he looks to freshen his team to keep their play-off hopes alive. Shayne Bolton, Dave Heffernan, Sean Jansen, Josh Murphy, and Joe Joyce all offer physicality, while scrum-half Matthew Devine brings guile. 14th-placed Lions aren’t completely out of the play-off race just yet, although they’ve major ground to make up. Connacht can’t miss this chance if they want a URC quarter-final. LIONS: Quan Horn; Richard Kriel, Henco van Wyk, Bronson Mills, Edwill van der Merwe; Kade Wolhuter, Morne van den Berg; Morgan Naude, Jaco Visagie (captain), Asenathi Ntlabakanye; Ruben Schoeman, Ruan Delport; JC Pretorius, Renzo du Plessis, Jarod Cairns. Advertisement Replacements: PJ Botha, SJ Kotze, RF Schoeman, Darrien Landsberg, Izan Esterhuizen, Nico Steyn, Lubabalo Dobela, Rynhardt Jonker. CONNACHT: Piers O’Conor; Shayne Bolton, David Hawkshaw, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings; Jack Carty, Matthew Devine; Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Josh Murphy, Joe Joyce; Cian Prendergast (captain), Conor Oliver, Sean Jansen. Replacements: Eoin de Buitléar, Jordan Duggan, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, Paul Boyle, Colm Reilly, Hugh Gavin, Santiago Cordero. Referee: Hollie Davidson [SRU]. Scarlets v Leinster Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli KO 5.15pm, RTÉ/Premier Sports Rónan Kelleher captains Leinster.Nick Elliot / INPHO Nick Elliot / INPHO / INPHO As the bulk of Leinster’s frontliners began their prep for the Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton, today’s matchday squad spent the past week focusing on maintaining the impressive momentum built in recent weeks. 155 points, 50 breaks, and 61 offloads in three games mean Leinster aren’t shy of rhythm, although the wholesale changes for this visit to Llanelli will make it challenging to live up to that standard. And yet, this is no weak Leinster team. There are nine Ireland internationals in the starting team, two more on the bench, a few potential future Test players in the matchday squad, and a couple of experienced heads like French tighthead Rabah Slimani involved. Adding to the blend is one fresh face in academy back Ruben Moloney, set for his debut off the bench having been involved with the Ireland U20s last year. The 21-year-old UCD wing/fullback has had bad injury luck in the last couple of seasons but is highly-regarded by the Leinster coaching staff. Scarlets have welcomed Wales internationals Sam Costelow and Johnny Williams back from injury at out-half and inside centre, respectively. Currently sitting just outside the play-offs, Dwayne Peel’s men have a huge amount to play for today. They’ll hope Leinster’s changes mean a dip in the fluidity of the Irish province’s performance, but Leo Cullen’s men will be determined not to let up in their bid to keep building towards their goal of a URC and Champions Cup double. SCARLETS: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee; Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies; Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas; Alex Craig, Sam Lousi; Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (captain), Taine Plumtree. Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Louie Trevett, Sam Wainwright, Jac Price, Jarrod Taylor, Archie Hughes, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page. LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Andrew Osborne, Liam Turner, Jamie Osborne, Jimmy O’Brien; Ross Byrne, Fintan Gunne; Cian Healy, Rónan Kelleher (captain), Thomas Clarkson; Ryan Baird, Brian Deeny; Alex Soroka, Will Connors, James Culhane. Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, Diarmuid Mangan, Scott Penny, Cormac Foley, Charlie Tector, Ruben Moloney. Referee: Mike Adamson [SRU]. Ulster v Sharks Kingspan Stadium, Belfast KO 7.35pm, RTÉ/Premier Sports Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth.Steve Haag / INPHO Steve Haag / INPHO / INPHO JUST WHEN YOU thought Jacob Stockdale at fullback was a thing of the past, Ulster need him to switch to number 15. It has been nearly four years since his last start there for his province. Stockdale’s most recent outing at fullback for Ireland was even further back in December 2020. Stockdale has been in excellent form on the left wing but with Mike Lowry, Stewart Moore, and Ethan McIlroy injured, the 29-year-old will take on the challenge of moving position this evening. Ulster have had to deal with challenges a fair bit this season, many of them caused by injuries. That was true against Leinster last weekend when they made a fine start in Dublin before backline injuries and their 6/2 bench split played a role in slowing them up. It feels like Ulster have been in make-or-break scenarios for months. They’ve come out on the right side of a few of those recently, recording URC wins over the Scarlets, Dragons, and Stormers last month before showing grit and attacking quality in their Champions Cup defeat away to Bordeaux. South Africa’s Sharks arrived in Belfast laden down with Springboks stars like Ox Nché, Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch, captain Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, and others, but Ulster must hope they are less than the sum of their parts. Last weekend’s win away to Edinburgh gave John Plumtree’s men an eight-point cushion in fourth place, meaning they have a strong chance of a home quarter-final, but they’ve become well known for having chaotic off days. This could be the tie of the weekend. ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale; Werner Kok, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Zac Ward; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole; Alan O’Connor (captain), Cormac Izuchukwu; Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, James McNabney. Replacements: Tom Stewart, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Matthew Dalton, Kieran Treadwell, Dave Shanahan, Aidan Morgan, David McCann. SHARKS: Aphelele Fassi; Ethan Hooker, Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Jordan Hendriks, Jaden Hendrikse; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch; Eben Etzebeth (captain), Jason Jenkins; James Venter, Vincent Tshituka, Siya Kolisi. Replacements: Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Hanro Jacobs, Manu Tshituka, Phepsi Buthelezi, Bradley Davids, Siya Masuku, Jurenzo Julius Referee: Ben Whitehouse [WRU]. Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Carty's Connacht, new face for Leinster, Stockdale's Ulster switch ”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Carty's Connacht, new face for Leinster, Stockdale's Ulster switch ”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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