By Vincent Whelan

Copyright thesun

LEINSTER are starting the defence of their URC from South Africa this season with a trio of away days.

In case you need reminding, it was the Bulls whom the Blues dismantled 32-7 in last season’s play-off final at Croke Park.

Those two will lock horns once again on October 4. But before that, Leo Cullen’s side face a battle this evening versus the Stormers.

Here’s everything to know about today’s game:

WHAT TV CHANNEL IS STORMERS VS LEINSTER ON?

The match will be shown live on TG4 as well as Premier Sports 1. So everyone can freely stream it via the TG4 Player while only subscribers will be able to avail of the Premier Player.

Kick-off from Cape Town will be at 6 pm Irish time. Surprisingly, South Africa is only one hour ahead of Ireland with the local kick-off time being 7 pm.

WHAT IS THE LEINSTER TEAM?

Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien; Tommy O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw, Ciarán Frawley, Jordan Larmour; Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath (capt); Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Rabah Slimani; Diarmuid Mangan, Brian Deeny; Ryan Baird, Scott Penny, James Culhane

Replacements: John McKee, Paddy McCarthy, Andrew Sparrow, Max Deegan, Will Connors, Fintan Gunne, Harry Byrne, Hugh Cooney

DHL Stormers: W Simelane, S Senatla, R Nel, D du Plessis, L Zas, J Matthee, S Ungerer; v Matongo, AH Venter, N Fouche; A Smith, JD Schickerling; P De Villiers, BJ Dixon, E Roos.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

The Irish province are 1/5 favourites while the home team are outsiders at 10/3.

A draw is set at 25/1 while the handicap is +/-10 points.

WHAT’S BEEN SAID IN THE BUILD-UP?

Fresh off signing a new contract with Leinster, senior coach Jacques Nienaber is looking forward to the challenge that these few weeks in his homeland will bring.

He told the Irish Examiner: “There will be a lot of emotion and there will be a lot of pride in the Stormers game. I coached here for six years.

“They’ve got a good fan base. They are a proud team and they love playing in Cape Town.

“So, just our run in the first month, not excuses, this is the reality. We play the Stormers. They will be proud. It will be tough over here and we have to prepare for that.

“Then we play the Bulls, which will be a repeat of the final of last year. Then we’re going to play the Sharks, who lost to the Bulls in the semi-finals.

“And then we’re going to play Munster in Croke Park. The nice thing is we will hit top-quality opposition early on and that will give us a sense where we are at.”