Isa Nacewa admits he has been surprised by the performances of Ireland under-20 international Garry Ringrose in a Leinster shirt, but is backing the starlet to deliver the goods once again against high-flying Scarlets. The Irishmen have lost only one home game in any tournament in the last 13 months, but take on Wayne Pivac’s in-form side that currently top the GUINNESS PRO12 and are looking to make it 11 league wins on the bounce. But the Scarlets have not beaten an Irish province on their own soil since November 2013, and with Leinster back in the play-off zone for the first time since February, Nacewa believes they can do the job once again on Friday evening. Ringrose has made his full Leinster debut and grabbed his first GUINNESS PRO12 try already this season, and new skipper Nacewa is confident the back will go from strength to strength. “Garry was man of the match in his last outing at the RDS and he has taken every opportunity he can to perform,” he told the Irish Times. “Everything he has done off the field has been spot on as well. He’s just excited to be around all the internationals and to play alongside them. “Garry admitted it was intimidating for him but then he just gets excited. “He took me completely by surprise when I got here in the amount of work he does off the field for a young guy. He has never been fazed between swapping between 12, 13 and the wing. “Even in training he just happily puts his head down and goes and reviews training and gets on with the job the next day. He’s going to be a world-class player but he’s taking it a week at a time because he knows that’s as far as he wants to look ahead.” Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has named a completely new starting XV from the one that faced Treviso last Sunday – including first starts for Cian Kelleher on the left wing and James Tracy at hooker. It will be Ringrose’s first start at centre, while there is also the return of a number of internationals who were away during the Rugby World Cup. Rob Kearney, Zane Kirchner, Ian Madigan, Mike Ross and Jamie Heaslip will make their first appearances of the season, with the latter captaining the side on his 203rd cap for the boys in blue. Meanwhile, John Barclay captains the Scarlets in the huge clash as Ken Owens makes way in the starting line-up for Emyr Phillips. Gareth Owen, Michael Tagicakibau and Aaron Shingler make a return from injury with Gareth Davies back for his first start over the season after a successful Rugby World Cup campaign. Newcomers Maselino Paulino and Michael Collins are named on the replacements bench hoping to make an impact on their debuts, while Samson Lee, DTH van der Merwe, and Rhodri Williams are all still being rested. Pivac said: “We've won the first six and we're happy with where we're sitting in the GUINNESS PRO12 table. It's very early days but success breeds success and the confidence is growing with each victory. “We're building a good camaraderie within the group. Don't underestimate a team that is working well together and enjoying each others company and how that transforms into a good team performance. “We'll be going out there trying to give it our best shot.” At RDS Arena, 7.35pm. Live on TG4/BBC Wales Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU, 53rd competition game) Assistant Referees: Leo Colgan, Olly Hodges (both IRFU) Citing Commissioner: Wayne Sheridan (IRFU) TMO: Seamus Flannery (IRFU)
