Scrumhalf Fintan Gunne ready to make his voice heard at Leinster

Luke McGrath has left, headed for the sunny climes of Perpignan. The audition process for the understudy role to Jamison Gibson-Park at Leinster began in a recent preseason friendly in Lyon. Fintan Gunne started, while Cormac Foley and Oliver Coffey were on the bench for the clash against the French Top 14 team.

Tadhg Brophy is in his second year in the academy. Coffey’s younger brother Luke, an age-grade international, is also knocking around on the periphery. Scrumhalves all. Gunne (23) is likely to retain the starting role for Saturday’s preseason friendly against Zebre, a soft opening for the refurbished RDS, rebranded as the Laya Arena. About 7,000 tickets have been sold to date.