Leicester International group return to face Leinster

Leicester Tigers welcome back five senior internationals to take on Leinster in round two of the Investec Champions Cup.

England's Freddie Steward, Joe Heyes and Jamie Blamire all return alongside Wales duo Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith tomorrow night at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

Flanker Reffell leads the side in the week partner Annabel gave birth to their daughter Nancy.

Scrum half Tom Whiteley makes a landmark 50th appearance for the club and Solomone Kata — who reached the half-century off the bench against La Rochell -- starts alongside Will Wand in midfield.

Tomorrow night's match is a meeting of two European giants with six Investec Champions Cup wins between them.

Head coach Geoff Parling said: "We’re looking forward to the visit of Leinster to our Mattioli Woods Welford Road home. It’s a proud moment for Tommy leading the team in what has been a big week for him with the birth of his daughter Nancy, and the group is excited about both the fixture and getting behind him."

Leicester have released a list of players unavailable to face Leinster, including Finn Carnduff and Hanro Liebenberg, who have received injury setbacks.

Parling said: “Finn was due to be on the bench for the La Rochelle game but unfortunately dislocated his shoulder in training which is devastating after he'd been working so hard previously in rehab. He had surgery yesterday and we look forward to getting a fit and healthy Finn back as we can see from his attitude to compete every day what a good player he will be.

“Hanro took a knock to the knee in our Gallagher PREM game at Newcastle which required surgery. He’s an exceptional player and leader in the squad so will be missed. He should be back mid-January.”

Unavailable for selection: Carnduff (shoulder), Clare (concussion), L Chessum (knee), O Chessum (foot), Cracknell (hamstring), Hamer-Webb (hamstring), Ilione (shoulder), Kinder (hamstring), Liebenberg (knee), Martin (shoulder), Myall (knee), Palmer (shoulder), Perese (calf), Van Poortvliet (shoulder).

Leicester Tigers (appearances in brackets)
15 Freddie Steward (117)
14 Adam Radwan (19)
13 Will Wand (21)
12 Solomone Kata (50)
11 Ollie Hassell-Collins (56)
10 Billy Searle (9)
9 Tom Whiteley (49)
1 Nicky Smith (31)
2 Jamie Blamire (7)
3 Joe Heyes (168)
4 Cameron Henderson (72)
5 Harry Wells (224)
6 James Thompson (7)
7 Tommy Reffell (Captain, 143)
8 Joaquin Moro (9)

Replacements
16 Finn Theobald Thomas (22)
17 Archie van der Flier (9)
18 Will Hurd (56)
19 Tom Manz (18)
20 Sam Williams (5)
21 Ollie Allan (11)
22 Orlando Bailey (7)
23 Joseph Woodward (41)