Scottish referee Hollie Davidson starts the game with Scarlets fly-half Sam Costelow kicking off.

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen tells BBC One Wales: "Scarlets will be coming here with plans themselves and they’re on a good run of form.

"They have a nice, cohesive group and were trying to push to get into the top eight, so they have the feel of playing knockout games over the last number of weeks.

"Whether that’s an advantage for them today or not, I don’t know. I hope we have a good plan and a good squad of players that will come out and produce moments."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

While most eyes in the rugby watching world were trained on the Principality Stadium for the Champions Cup final last weekend, viewing figures around Dublin were likely below the average.

Leinster, Ireland and soon-to-be Lions wing James Lowe took his young family to the zoo, and you imagine he was not alone among his team-mates in finding something else to occupy the hours that led to Bordeaux-Begles being crowned European champions.

The first time since 2021 that Leinster have not been involved in the decider, defeat by beaten finalists Northampton Saints in the semi-finals ensured their wait to add an elusive fifth star to their crest goes on.

It has now been seven years since they won their fourth title, against Racing 92 in Bilbao.

As Leo Cullen's team regather for the United Rugby Championship (URC) play-offs and the quarter-final at home to Scarlets, it has left them in something of an awkward limbo.

While in the weeks since the side have recorded their biggest ever domestic victory and secured top seeding for the URC knockouts, neither achievement was ever going to flush the bitter taste of a seventh straight European exit.

Read more from Jonathan Bradley on Leinster's struggles here.

Image source, Getty Images

Captain Josh Macleod says Scarlets are prepared to face the fully loaded Leinster side.

Scarlets stunned Leinster with a 35-22 victory at Parc y Scarlets last month, although the runaway league leaders had made 11 changes for the visit to Llanelli.

Leo Cullen rested a number of key players with one eye on the Champions Cup semi-final.

But after losing out in Europe to Northampton Saints, the Irish side's focus now shifts back to the URC.

"We're certainly expecting a bigger challenge this weekend with personnel," said Macleod.

"Yes, they're going to be a different animal - we're preparing for that - but we've built nicely as well."

Image source, Huw

For a team that is so dominant across a season, Leinster have not picked up silverware in recent years.

Their previous league success was in 2021 which had been a fourth successive title. Leinster have not lifted Europe's top prize for seven years.

The Irish province were left stunned from their Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Northampton at the Aviva Stadium earlier this month.

Leinster's forwards coach Robin McBryde is a former Scarlets and Wales hooker.

"Everybody has looked at themselves across the board since the Northampton defeat," said McBryde.

"We have had a couple of good sessions where we have had some honest feedback of where we can improve.

"We have spoken about it as players and coaches. Was our mindset in the right frame of mind going into that game? Did we think we had a right to be in the final? I don't know.

"We have fallen short again in the Champions Cup so hopefully we can go a step further in the URC this season.

"The URC quarter-finals gives us another opportunity to show we can do that in a knockout phase of a competition because in the last three seasons up to this point of the year we have been pretty good."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel says there is no greater task than facing Leinster in Dublin, but has urged his side to embrace the challenge.

Peel's side are underdogs against the Irish team for the United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off quarter-final at the Aviva Stadium.

Leinster topped the league after the regular season, although one of only two defeats for Leo Cullen's men came against Scarlets in Llanelli in April.

"It's going to be a great occasion and a case of embracing it," said Peel.

"It's not about chasing five points, it's knockout rugby and it's all on the day.

"We want to go further, we want to push a great team in Leinster as far as we can."

This is Scarlets' first appearance in the league play-offs since they were finalists in 2018.

Peel's side won four of their last five games but have not won back-to-back matches against Leinster since 2015.

"There's no greater task than going to Dublin and we're looking forward to that challenge," said Peel.

"We won't shy away from it, you've got to have confidence in your own group when you go there.

"As much as they have some world-class names in their group, we've got some pretty good players and we're going to go there and give it the best we can."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

For Scarlets it is as you were with the same 23 that lost to Sharks.

Former Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies is again missing with a rib injury and Archie Hughes starts.

Hooker Ryan Elias is preferred to Marnus van der Merwe, while centre Johnny Williams - who has signed a new deal this week - partners Joe Roberts.

Scarlets: Murray; Rogers, Roberts, J Williams, Mee; Costelow, Hughes; Hepburn, Elias, H Thomas, Craig, Lousi, Fifita, Macleod (capt), Plumtree.

Replacements: Van der Merwe, Mathias, S Wainwright, Davis, J Taylor, E Jones, I Lloyd, Page.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Jordie Barrett and Jamie Osborne will form the centre partnership for Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.

Robbie Henshaw, who lined up alongside New Zealand international Barrett in Leinster's last game against Glasgow, was ruled out earlier this week.

British and Irish Lions squad member Garry Ringrose is not included in the Leinster 23 as he is managing a calf problem.

James Lowe returns to start on the left wing with Jimmy O'Brien set to make his 100th appearance for the province on the opposite side.

Jamison Gibson-Park partners Sam Prendergast in the half-backs with Jack Conan again captaining the team from number eight in Caelan Doris' absence.

With Ronan Kelleher named to start at hooker, Dan Sheehan is included on a strong-looking bench alongside Rabah Slimani and RG Snyman.

In addition to Henshaw and Ringrose, Leinster boss Leo Cullen is without Lions prop Tadhg Furlong, with Thomas Clarkson picked at tight-head.

Leinster: Keenan; J O'Brien, Osborne, Barrett, Lowe; Prendergast, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Clarkson; McCarthy, Ryan; Baird, Van der Flier, Conan.

Replacements: Sheehan, Boyle, Slimani, Snyman, Deegan, Penny, McGrath, Frawley.

Image source, Inpho

The winners of this tie will face Glasgow in the semi-finals next weekend with the Scottish side overcoming Stormers on Friday night.

The destination of that match will depend on who wins in Dublin today. If Leinster triumph they will host the Scotland side, but if Scarlets cause an upset, the Welsh side will travel to Glasgow for the semi-final.

It was evident after the quarter-final success last night that Glasgow are fully expecting a trip to Dublin next Saturday.

Scarlets will be hoping to use that as motivation to produce the result very few are expecting.

Let's look at the teams.

Thank you Andrew and let us hope we can witness a similar spectacle here in Dublin today.

Hello and welcome to the second game of our URC quarter-final play-offs on this fine Saturday.

It's top seeds Leinster hosting Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium. Not many people are giving Dwayne Peel's Welsh side a hope against the star-studded Irish province.

So let's see what happens.

Image source, Inpho

Edinburgh's season is done at the quarter-final stage. There were plenty of times this season where it looked like they might not even get to this stage.

We'll bring you all the reaction over on the Scottish rugby topic page.

That wraps us up nicely in Pretoria, we'll hand over to our colleagues in Dublin ahead of the showdown between Leinster and Scarlets.

Chris Paterson
Former Scotland international on Premier Sports

Eight minutes - Moodie's try on 43, Johannes on 47, Nortje on 51. The back-to-back nature of that, plus Johannes finding his kicking boots...

That forced Edinburgh to chase the game. Credit to the Bulls, they didn't go safe when they were up against it at half-time. They still had that element of risk about them and had the courage to play the style of rugby that would get them ahead.

There's a hunger, desire and fight in Edinburgh. There's a physicality there. They were staring down the barrel, but they dug in and got momentum back.

The blue flags are waving. The Bulls fight back in the second half, and then weather the storm that Edinburgh created.

The visitors just ran out of puff in the end. They couldn't live with the Bulls at their best, but they did give the home side a bit of a fright.

Edinburgh's season is over, and they can go out with their heads held high. They left everything out there.

The maul is sacked, Edinburgh win the penalty. On their own line, with seconds remaining, they won't get the chance from here surely?

Edinburgh have the ball back on their own try line, but they are scrapping and the energy has gone from their legs. Paddy Harrison is caught by himself, and the Bulls leap on him like a pack of hungry hyenas.

They win the penalty, kick to the corner. Can they finish in style?

Harry Paterson concedes a penalty near the halfway line, and with less than three minutes on the clock, you get the feeling that is that for Edinburgh.

The damage done in the opening stages of the second-half was too severe to overcome.

The Bulls' come through the middle and Akker van der Merwe - brother of Duhan - gets his nose through the maul and wrestles Paddy Harrison to the floor, winning the penalty.

Enormous effort from the sub hooker. It might just see this game out.

Ali Price launches a box-kick forward and the kick-chase is good. Harry Paterson flies into the tackle, young Liam McConnell clears out and Ben Muncaster wins the penalty.

The young guns stepping up. Ben Healy kicks for the corner. They need to score from here.

Edinburgh lose the ball down in the 22m line and the Bulls are able to clear.

The visitors try and run it back, with Mark Bennett escaping a few tackles. It's loose though, and Ben Healy chips the ball away straight into Bulls' hands.

The replacement fly-half needs to keep his head.

There's an offside from the Bulls. Their discipline starting to go out the window.

It's kicked down into the 22m, as referee Adam Jones takes a tumble, falling over a stricken Edinburgh player.

It's all happening.