Leinster and Edinburgh Rugby take their unbeaten records to Dublin on Friday evening as the defending champions face their toughest test yet against the impressive Scottish outfit.

The hosts, two wins from two in the competition, are on the verge of entering near-unprecedented territory having only begun a Guinness PRO14 season with three successive wins once since ²⁰⁰³⁄₀₄, that coming in 2017 when they went on to take the title.

The signs, then, could be that another triumphant season is in the offing, however Edinburgh could prove tricky customers given the Leinstermen’s recent record against Scottish opponents in the Championship – they have won only two of their last six contests.

Edinburgh have also notched up two victories so far this campaign, one a hammering over Zebre and the other a gritty affair against Cardiff Blues, as Richard Cockerill’s side have turned heads with their showings.

Can they keep it up against the champions? Edinburgh have only won once against an Irish province in any competition for the last twelve months but will feel that they are now in the best position they have been during that time to put an end to the statistic.

Kick-off: RDS Arena, Dublin | 19:35 UK, Friday 11 October

How to watch: Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 1, DAZN, SuperSport 6****

Players to watch out for: Ronan Kelleher**** (Leinster), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh)****

It is hard to look past hooker Ronan Kelleher after his imperious hat-trick last weekend against Ospreys.

Kelleher became just the fourth hooker to score a Guinness PRO14 hat-trick on a night in which he scored his first, second and third tries in senior rugby.

They say start as you mean to go on and Kelleher now has a lot to live up to after a dream performance which set tongues wagging.

Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe has simply been unstoppable this season, racking up the highest number of defenders beaten with 16 in the entire Guinness PRO14 so far.

Van der Merwe has been at the centre of all that has been good – and there has been a lot of it this season – about Edinburgh, with his speed and creativity on the ball setting up numerous tries.

If they are to pull off a huge win against Leinster then he will need to maintain that form.

Key stat: Leinster’s only defeat at the RDS Arena since April 2018 was to Glasgow Warriors in April 2019.****

Leinster: Hugo Keenan, Dave Kearney, Rory O’Loughlin, Joe Tomane, James Lowe, Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park, Peter Dooley, Rónan Kelleher, Michael Bent, Devin Toner, Scott Fardy, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris

Replacements: James Tracy, Michael Milne, Vakh Abdaladze, Ross Molony, Josh Murphy, Rowan Osborne, Harry Byrne, Jimmy O’Brien

Edinburgh: Damien Hoyland, Jamie Farndale, Mark Bennett, George Taylor, Duhan van der Merwe, Jaco van der Walt, Nic Groom, Pierre Schoeman, Mike Willemse, Pietro Ceccarelli, Jamie Hodgson, Murray Douglas, Mesulame Kunavula, Luke Crosbie, Nick Haining

Replacements: Cameron Fenton, Jamie Bhatti, Murray McCallum, Sam Thomson, Ally Miller, Charlie Shiel, Simon Hickey, James Johnstone

Cardiff City Stadium will play host to the 2020 Guinness PRO14 Final on June 20 as one of the most exciting days in the club rugby calendar comes to Wales!

General sale tickets are available from http://bit.ly/PRO14Cardiff2020 and prices start at just £13 for concessions and £26 for adults (subject to booking fees), that’s a 15% early bird discount. Family ticket (2 adults / 2 children) prices begin at £64 and fans are encouraged to buy early to get the best value tickets.