| Home team | Leinster |
| Away team | Lions |
| Venue | Aviva Stadium |
| Competition | URC Playoffs |
| Kick off time | 8 pm (UK) |
| Watch Live in the UK | Premier Sports |
Leinster vs Lions URC playoffs preview as the sides meet at the Aviva Stadium.
Leinster finished second in the league table and therefore will have a home semi-final as well if they get past the Lions, who they beat just a few weeks before. The Lions finished seventh after they lost their final two league games. Read more match previews for all your rugby action here
Leinster vs Lions confirmed lineups
| Leinster | Lions | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Porter | 1 | Kotze | |||
| Sheehan | 2 | Botha | |||
| Furlong | 3 | Lombard | |||
| McCarthy | 4 | Nothnagel | |||
| Ryan | 5 | Landsberg | |||
| Deegan | 6 | Mahashe | |||
| Penny | 7 | Hlekani | |||
| Doris | 8 | Horn | |||
| Backs | |||||
| McGrath | 9 | Steyn | |||
| Prendergast | 10 | William Smith | |||
| Lowe | 11 | Cronje | |||
| Osborne | 12 | Kriel | |||
| Ioane | 13 | Van Wyk | |||
| J O’Brien | 14 | A Davids | |||
| Keenan | 15 | Horn | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| G McCarthy | 16 | Marais | |||
| Usanov | 17 | E Davids | |||
| Clarkson | 18 | Schoeman | |||
| Mangan | 19 | Delport | |||
| Van der Flier | 20 | Qoma | |||
| Gibson-Park | 21 | Pretorius | |||
| Byrne | 22 | Jonker | |||
| Henshaw | 23 | Paed | |||
Recent Form:
Leinster (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 23rd May 2026 | Champions Cup Final | Bordeaux Begles | 19-41 |
| Won | 16th May 2026 | URC | Ospreys | 68-14 |
| Won | 9th May 2026 | URC | Lions | 31-7 |
| Won | 2nd May 2026 | Champions Cup semi-final | Toulon | 29-25 |
| Loss | 25th April 2026 | URC | Benetton | 29-26 |
Leinster are coming off the back of a heavy Champions Cup final defeat to Bordeaux Begles. They had won their final two URC games before this, including a win over the Lions. In the Champions Cup final, they took an early lead, but an intercept try at the end of the half left them 35-7 down at half-time. Leinster scored two tries but two Lucu penalties was enough to keep Bordeaux 22 points ahead.
Lions (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 16th May 2026 | URC | Munster | 24-17 |
| Loss | 9th May 2026 | URC | Leinster | 31-7 |
| Won | 25th April 2026 | URC | Conancht | 33-21 |
| Won | 18th April 2026 | URC | Glasgow Warriors | 54-12 |
| Won | 28th March 2026 | URC | Dragons | 42-26 |
Lions were on a six-game winning run when they travelled to Ireland to face Leinster and Munster, losing both. In the last game of the regular season, they lost by seven against Munster to finish in seventh. They were leading just before halftime, but conceded for the game to go 17-14 to Munster at the break. Munster scored another converted try in the second half, and the Lions only managed a penalty.
Leinster vs Lions head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 9th May 2026 | URC | Leinster | 31-7 |
| 26th October 2024 | URC | Leinster | 24-6 |
| 20th April 2024 | URC | Lions | 44-12 |
| 15th April 2023 | URC | Leinster | 36-39 |
| 25th February 2022 | URC | Leinster | 21-13 |
