BERNARD Jackman has stayed true to his pledge of keeping changes to a minimum for the Dragons’ daunting Guinness PRO14 trip to face champions Leinster.

The head coach tinkers with his XV that beat Southern Kings 27-22 – their first league win since last September – for the clash at the Royal Dublin Society.

Openside Nic Cudd makes his first appearance of the season, Adam Warren replaces injured centre Tyler Morgan and Lloyd Fairbrother gets the nod at tighthead ahead of Leon Brown, who is on the bench after being troubled by a shoulder injury early in the week.

The return of Cudd should provide a defensive boost against star-studded Leinster with the breakdown specialist making his first competitive appearance since May, 2017.

The popular 29-year-old missed all of last season after rupturing knee ligaments against Glasgow in pre-season.

He comes into the back row with Ollie Griffiths, who has impressed in the first two rounds despite not featuring in pre-season while he returned from a hip operation, tasked with adding oomph from the bench.

The Dragons will face a formidable Leinster side that is captained by Ireland and Lions fly-half Jonathan Sexton, who makes his first appearance of the season.

Leinster: R Kearney, J Larmour, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, D Kearney, J Sexton (captain), J Gibson-Park, E Byrne, S Cronin, A Porter, S Fardy, J Ryan, M Deegan, J van der Flier, J Conan. Replacements: B Byrne, P Dooley, T Furlong, R Molony, C Doris, H O’Sullivan, N Reid, J Tomane.

Dragons: J Williams, D Howells, A Warren, J Dixon, H Amos, J Lewis, R Williams, B Harris, E Dee, L Fairbrother, M Screech, C Hill (captain), A Wainwright, N Cudd, R Moriarty. Replacements: R Hibbard, R Bevington, L Brown, B Nansen, O Griffiths, T Knoyle, A Robson, J Sage.

Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)