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Episode 87, and with no Leinster game this week The Leinster Listen turns to Ireland — Andy Farrell's side open the Nations Championship Northern Hemisphere Series at the Aviva on Friday night against Argentina, kick-off 8:10pm. Eight Leinster players start: Porter, Sheehan (captain), Furlong, McCarthy, Baird, Prendergast, Henshaw and Keenan, with Craig Casey preferred at scrum-half over Jamison Gibson-Park on the bench. Sean Jansen gets his first Ireland start at number eight. Felipe Contepomi names a reshuffled Pumas side seeking a first away win in Dublin. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:

📰 News Items from the Thursday roundup; McNamara confirmed as Leinster head coach from July 2027, Cian Healy back as elite player development officer, Genge on the hip-drop ban, Samoa governance, and Ulster's five men re-signed to 2030.

🏉 Nations Championship Round 4 game predictions; six Tests from Friday night in Dublin through Sunday at Twickenham, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Wales, France and England calls.

📋 Details of our game; 8:10pm Friday at the Aviva, Luke Pearce with Davidson and Ferreira on the flags, Virgin Media One and RTÉ radio in Ireland, ITV in the UK.

👕 Team lineups; pitch-style sheets for both teams plus shareable team-sheet.png.

🎯 Score and MOTM prediction; Irish News outright odds

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Episode 86, and Leinster turn a wet Aviva interpro on its head from 13-0 down to a bonus-point 24-18 win over Munster in URC Round 4. Jamison Gibson-Park marks his return with three try assists and URC Player of the Match honours, Tommy O'Brien, Ryan Baird, Charlie Tector and Jamie Osborne cross for the hosts, and Monday brought a citing for Tadhg Furlong after Gavin Coombes' groin allegation and Munster's extra camera angle did what live TV could not. Sunday news leads with the Furlong citing, then Conan’s shoulder op, Prendergast and Ringrose doubts, Erin King’s Ireland Women captaincy in Cape Town, WRU losses, Stormers hooker chaos, and Henry Pollock’s Welford Road week, then we look ahead to Connacht on Friday. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:

📰 News Items; Furlong cited under Law 9.27 after Coombes allegation and Munster footage, Conan surgery and Ireland doubts for Prendergast and Ringrose, Erin King captains in Cape Town, WRU £18.1m loss fallout, Stormers lose Kotze appeal and all three hookers, and Pollock’s Tatler-to-brawl week.

🏉 BKT United Rugby Championship Round 4 results; Full scoreboard from Cardiff through the Aviva derby to the Welsh clash, plus the full table after four rounds.

📊 Overall opinion and match events; Prediction check vs the Episode 85 preview (30-22), timeline from Munster’s 13-0 start to Ben O’Connor’s losing bonus point, and Gibson-Park’s Player of the Match night.

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Episode 85, and the interpro is back at the Aviva — Leinster host Munster on Saturday evening in a one-off BKT United Rugby Championship Round 4 return to Lansdowne Road, with Leo Cullen naming Dan Sheehan at number eight, Joey Carbery at out-half for his first Leinster start since 2018, and Jamison Gibson-Park back from groin trouble. Sam Prendergast is out injured; Munster bring seven changes from their Racing 92 Champions Cup win, with Sean O'Brien at 13 for his 50th cap. Leinster arrive off a 48-23 win in Clermont; Munster beat Racing 33-25. Last season's league meeting went Munster's way 31-14 at Croke Park. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:

📰 News Items; Ireland's November squad with 17 Leinster players and Sheehan as captain, the Jonathan Roche link Dobson called preposterous, Saracens versus The Times, France picking ineligible Jeremy Ward, and Northampton's security scare.

🏉 BKT United Rugby Championship Round 4 predictions; Friday's Cardiff-Sharks, Connacht-Zebre and Edinburgh-Lions openers through Saturday's South African double-header, Treviso, the Aviva interpro, and Ospreys-Dragons.

📋 Details of our game; 6pm kick-off at the Aviva, wet and windy Dublin evening, Andrew Brace in the middle, Premier Sports 1 and RTÉ Radio 1 coverage, one-off home while the Laya Arena is the usual URC base, and form lines after Clermont and Thomond.

👕 Team lineups; Pitch-style sheets — Sheehan at 8, Carbery and Gibson-Park in the halves, Osborne at 13, and Munster's seven changes with Daly back and Gordon Wood on the bench.

🎯 Score and MOTM prediction; Interpro margins, Conan and Prendergast absent, and why I'm backing Gibson-Park to boss the derby