Scott Fardy will lead out Leinster against Southern Kings

Pro14: Southern Kings v Leinster

Kick off: 12.45pm Irish time, Sunday. Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. TV: Live on eirSport and Premier Sport.

Scott Fardy will captain Leinster for the first time in a competitive fixture, starting in the second row with Ross Molony, for their clash with Southern Kings.

The Aussie will lead out a much-changed side with Leo Cullen making seven switches in total from the side that saw off Bennetton Treviso last weekend as Dan Leavy comes into the 15 after he travelled to South Africa instead of going to Chicago with Ireland.

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Dave Kearney returns from injury to make his first start since the home win over Dragons in September. Adam Byrne and Joe Tomane retain their places in the back three from last week.

Rory O’Loughlin once again starts at outside centre, while Conor O’Brien, who made a try-scoring appearance from the bench last week, starts in the 12 shirt.

The final change to the backline sees Noel Reid come in to start at out-half, with Jamison Gibson-Park completing the half-back pairing.

There are two changes to the Leinster front row as Ed Byrne and Michael Bent come in, with James Tracy once again named as the starting hooker.

In the second row, Fardy swaps from loosehead to tighthead side, with Molony coming in for James Ryan.

Finally, in the back row, Josh Murphy will start at blindside flanker in place of Seán O’Brien as Leavy and Max Deegan keep their places from last weekend.

LEINSTER: Dave Kearney; Adam Byrne, Rory O'Loughlin, Conor O'Brien, Joe Tomane; Noel Reid, Jamison Gibson-Park; Ed Byrne, James Tracy, Michael Bent; Ross Molony, Scott Fardy (capt); Josh Murphy, Dan Leavy, Max Deegan.

Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Peter Dooley, Vakh Abdaladze, Mick Kearney, Caelan Doris, Hugh O'Sullivan, Ciarán Frawley, Tom Daly.