Fit-again Sione Tuipulotu part of 10-strong Lions cast

Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu will make his comeback for Glasgow vs Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.

The powerhouse centre missed the entirety of the Six Nations after sustaining a pectoral muscle injury in training on the eve of the Championship and has been out of action for the best part of four months.

“Our medical and S&C teams have been working closely with Sione over the last few weeks in order to put him in the best possible position, and his enthusiasm for his return to action has been infectious,” said Warriors head coach Franco Smith.

Tuipulotu teams up with fellow Lion, Huw Jones, in midfield, while another member of the 2025 touring party, Scott Cummings, is named on the bench. Leinster have included six Lions – Hugo Keenan, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, James Ryan and Jack Conan, who captains the side, all start, while Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong are on the bench.

Glasgow’s fourth Lion, tight-head Zander Fagerson, was not available for selection due to a calf injury.

Meanwhile, Scotland U20 hooker Seb Stephen is set for his first professional outing after being named to start at hooker in the club’s final regular-season fixture, while Macenzzie Duncan is selected at blindside for a first start in Glasgow colours.

GLASGOW v Leinster: 1 Jamie Bhatti, 2 Seb Stephen, 3 Fin Richardson, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 5 Alex Samuel, 6 Macenzzie Duncan, 7 Rory Darge, 8 Euan Ferrie, 9 Ben Afshar, 10 Adam Hastings, 11 Kyle Steyn (Capt), 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 13 Huw Jones, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 15 Kyle Rowe.
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Scott Cummings, 21 Stafford McDowall, 22 George Horne, 23 Tom Jordan.