What time and TV channel is Lions v Leinster on today?

Leinster open their URC campaign with two games in South Africa for the second season in a row.

And having lost twice there last year appeared focussed on arrival, intent on not repeating the round one 0-36 reverse against Stormers.

On foot of which there was a defined pre-season switch in training routine for the playing squad in the hope of avoiding a repeat of that undercooked performance.

It is still an 'early-season' Leinster XV albeit with Tommy O'Brien, Gus McCarthy, Andrew Porter, Ryan Baird, Scott Penny and Max Deegan starting.

Autrian-born Academy out-half Caspar Gabriel and Academy full-back Todd Lawlor at full-back will be making starting debuts.

Dylan McNeice who is among the replacements will also be a making his debut should be come in.

It is a contest with enough contrasting indicators to make it fascinating.

Leinster are URC champions; European Champions Cup runners-up; Irish Shield winners; beat Lions 31-7 in Dublin in last season's URC quarter-finals.

Lions qualified for the URC play-offs for the first time last season; they won the South African Shield; they won eight of their nine home URC games.

Silky out-half Chris Smith, 32 years-of-age, has never been capped by the 'Boks but his ability to move the Lions fast-running backs about the pitch is exceptional.

New signing Boeta Chamberlain is at full-back while fellow new arrival and Bok prop Boan Venter starts in the front-row.

Where: Ellis Park, Johannesburg –

Kick-Off: 12:30pm Irish time

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU):

AR 1: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU) AR 2: Jonathan Lottering (SARU)

Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Leinster's Jacques Nienaber: "The Lions are a good team, and I think everybody would say that. But if you statistically look at them, if you look especially from an attacking point of view, and you look at last season, they were the team that had the most offloads, they scored the most tries in the competition, they won the South African conference, and South African teams in general are doing pretty well in the BKT URC.

"They've been in the last five grand finals, South African teams, so it's a tough task to come to South Africa, and the Lions as well. It's going to be a nice challenge for us, and it's one that we definitely are looking forward to. But they're a great outfit, the Lions. They're a very proud team, and they're different. They're forced to be reckoned with. As they showed when they played against the All Blacks, Ellis Park is a ground that they really put their heart and their soul into defending."

Betting: Lions 8/15 Draw 18/1 Leinster 17/10

Handicap: Lions minus-5pts

Lions: Boeta Chamberlain; Kelly Mpeku, Henco van Wyk, Richard Kriel, Erich Cronje; Chris Smith, Nico Steyn; Boan Venter, PJ Botha, Sebastian de Klerk, Etienne Oosthuizen, Ruan Delport, Siba Mahashe, Batho Hlekani, Francke Horne (capt)

Replacements: Morne Brandon, SJ Kotze, RF Schoeman, Hyron Andrews, Siba Qoma, JC Pretorius, Zian Cilliers, Ethan Adams

Leinster: Todd Lawlor; Tommy O'Brien, Hugh Cooney, Charlie Tector, Andrew Osborne; Caspar Gabriel, Fintan Gunne; Alex Usanov, Gus McCarthy, Andrew Porter, Ryan Baird, Conor O'Tighearnaigh, Max Deegan (CAPT), Scott Penny, Josh Ericson

Replacements: Stephen Smyth, Peter Dooley, Niall Smyth, Brian Deeney, Dylan McNeice, Oliver Coffey, Harry Byrne, Ciarán Mangan