British & Irish Lions

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United Rugby Championship final - Leinster v Bulls

Venue: Croke Park, Dublin Date: Saturday, 14 June Kick-off: 17:00 BST

Coverage: Live text coverage on BBC Sport website & app

British and Irish Lions trio Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Furlong and Hugo Keenan will play no part in Leinster's United Rugby Championship final against the Bulls on Saturday.

Gibson-Park was named to start but was ruled out through injury on Saturday morning and has been replaced by Luke McGrath, with academy scrum-half Fintan Gunne a late call-up to the replacements.

Both tight-head prop Furlong and full-back Keenan have been dealing with calf complaints, although fellow Lions Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier are fit to start against the visiting South Africans.

The fixture in Croke Park is the last game before Andy Farrell's full party for the tour of Australia assemble and will be played six days before the first game against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on 20 June.

Furlong, 32, has struggled with injuries all season, last featuring in Leinster's Investec Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton on 3 May and made just nine appearances in 2024-25 for his province and Ireland.

Keenan, 29, did start Leinster's URC quarter-final against Scarlets on 31 May but missed out against Glasgow Warriors in the semi-finals a week later.

Flanker Van der Flier, who had a hamstring injury, also last featured against the Scarlets, while Garry Ringrose will be making his first appearance since 10 May against Zebre after a calf issue.

The inclusion of the pair and McGrath are the three changes made by Leo Cullen after the semi-final victory against the Warriors last week, meaning that nine Lions will be on show in Dublin.

James Lowe, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan and Jack Conan all also start while Ronan Kelleher is on the bench.

The Bulls make one change from their semi-final victory over Sharks with Marco van Staden coming in at flanker to replace the injured Cameron Hanekom and former Ulster back-row Marcell Coetzee switching from blind-side to number eight.

Leinster are aiming for a ninth URC victory but a first since 2021, while the Bulls are seeking a first title having been beaten in two finals in their four seasons in the competition.

Line-ups

Leinster: J O'Brien; T O'Brien, Ringrose, Barrett, Lowe; Prendergast, McGrath; Porter, Sheehan, Clarkson, McCarthy, Ryan, Baird, Van der Flier, Conan (captain)

Replacements: Kelleher, Boyle, Slimani, Snyman, Deegan, Gunne, R Byrne, Osborne.

Bulls: Le Roux; Moodie, Kriel, Vorster, De Klerk; Goosen, Papier; Wessels, Grobbelaar, Louw, Wiese, Van Heerden, Van Staden, Nortje (captain), Coetzee.

Replacements: Van der Merwe, Tshakweni, Smith, Kiersten, Carr, Burger, Johannes, Williams.

Image source, Getty Images

British and Irish Lions squad members Tadhg Furlong, Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan and Josh van der Flier are injury doubts for Leinster's United Rugby Championship final against the Bulls.

Furlong, Ringrose and Keenan are nursing calf injuries while Van der Flier's hamstring issue will be assessed before Saturday's game against the South African side at Croke Park, Dublin (17:00 BST).

Tight-head prop Furlong has endured an injury-plagued season and last played in Leinster's Investec Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton on 3 May.

The 32-year-old has managed just eight appearances for Leinster while he missed all but one of Ireland's Six Nations matches.

Centre Ringrose has missed the play-offs since coming off injured against Zebre on 10 May, while Van der Flier sustained his hamstring problem in the URC quarter-final win over Scarlets.

Fit-again back Jordan Larmour is available to face the Bulls after being part of the extended matchday squad in last weekend's semi-final win over Glasgow, while wing Tommy O'Brien came through that game with no issues after returning from a foot injury.

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Melbourne-born Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu is relishing the pressure of proving his international allegiance for the British and Irish Lions.

Amid ongoing debate about the selection of foreign-born players, the Glasgow centre is set to line up against his native Australia during this summer's Lions tour.

Tuipulotu, who made his Scotland debut in 2021, is among seven members of Andy Farrell's 38-man Lions squad who hail from overseas.

While five of those players are eligible for their adopted nations purely on residency rules, Tuipulotu qualified through ancestry.

The 28-year-old's Greenock-born grandmother was at Murrayfield last autumn to see him score a try while leading Scotland to a 27-13 defeat of the Wallabies.

"I put so much on myself that I really wanted to be a Lion because I know how much it means to people over here," said Tuipulotu, who initially feared his tour participation may be ruined by injury.

"I had gone all in with the stuff with Scotland and I just felt what better way to prove my allegiance to Scotland than go all in and try and make the Lions. That's why it meant so much to me.

"Genuinely early days you have that feeling of 'Am I part of this?'. I always feel like talking about it is one thing but showing people how much it means to you in how you play (is another).

"When my gran came over before the Australia game, it allowed the public to put a face to the story and listen to my grandma and how much it meant to her. I think that gave eyes to the public that my story was authentic.

"I'm all in and I'm looking forward to showing how committed I am to playing for the Lions."

Tuipulotu is raring to go after returning from four months out with a pectoral issue during Glasgow's 13-5 defeat to Leinster on Saturday.

"I've been nothing but embraced by the Scottish public ever since I started playing for Scotland," said Tuipulotu, who has 30 caps.

"There's always going to be a couple of people (who criticise), like there are for some of the Irish boys, but I take that in my stride because I don't blame those people either.

"I didn't grow up dreaming of playing for Scotland or the Lions, that's the truth.

"But this is where my path has led me and I'm all in for this Lions team and for Scotland and for Glasgow, and I genuinely feel like this is where I'm supposed to be."