FULL TIME! 34-13. Leinster have opened their account for the season with a bonus-point victory. It was pretty comfortable in the end for the hosts, although it was a grind at times. The Sharks suffer a second successive defeat in the new season and will travel to Ospreys still looking for that first win of the campaign.

CONVERSION, LEINSTER, PRENDERGAST! 34-13. Prendergast adds the extras with the final kick of the match.

TRY, LEINSTER, RUSSELL! 32-13. Leinster pounce on an error from the Sharks to allow Russell to score his second try of the match.

CONVERSION, SHARKS, BOSCH! 27-13. Bosch quickly adds the extras as the game goes into overtime.

TRY, SHARKS, RICHARDSON! 27-11. The Sharks have their try! It comes from a powerful driving maul, with replacement hooker Richardson reaching over to score.

A Sharks counter-attack started by Fassi ends with the visitors winning a breakdown penalty five metres from Leinster's tryline.

Leinster win a penalty after Fassi plays the ball on the ground. Prendergast kicks for an attacking lineout in the Sharks' 22.

NO TRY! It's an excellent piece of defence from Leinster, as Kok had the ball ripped as he went over the tryline.

TMO CHECK! Kok goes over the tryline, but the referee wants to check if the Sharks winger grounded it or had the ball snatched from his grasp.

The Sharks win a five-metre scrum after a wonderfully worked linebreak brings them to within a metre of the tryline. Leinster snatch the ball back at the breakdown, but are forced to carry it back over their tryline.

TRY, LEINSTER, O'BRIEN! 27-6. That's the bonus point for Leinster! It comes from a wonderfully weighted cross-field chip from Sam Prendergast, which finds Tommy O'Brien out wide and the winger steps a couple of poor tackle attempts to score.

Another promising move for the Sharks, from a Fassi linebreak, ends with a knock-on. The referee then penalizes the Sharks after a neck-roll is spotted by the TMO.

A linebreak for the Sharks engineered by Buthelezi and Dyantyi ends with lock Rahl losing the ball just outside Leinster's 22.

Aphiwe Dyantyi has made his way onto the field for the Sharks, to make his return to professional rugby.

CONVERSION, LEINSTER, BYRNE! 22-6. Byrne adds the extras as Leinster take a 16-point lead.

TRY, LEINSTER, RUSSELL! 20-6. Having only just made his way onto the field, Rob Russell scores with his first touch of the ball. It comes from an excellent bit of phase play, with Russell slicing through the Sharks defence.

Leinster have the Sharks pinned back, as Jamie Osborne's improvised overhead kick goes out for a 50/22.

PENALTY, LEINSTER, BYRNE! 15-6. Byrne converts a penalty from in front of the poles to take Leinster to a nine-point lead.

Leinster win a penalty on the halfway line. Byrne kicks the hosts into the Sharks' 22.

YELLOW CARD! Ngatai is cleared, but hooker Lee Baron is sent to the sin bin for putting a shoulder into Van Vuuren's head. The Sharks opt for an attacking lineout, but the kick goes beyond the dead-ball line.

TMO CHECK! The TMO wants to look at a tackle from Leinster's Ngatai on Sharks hooker Van Vuuren.

KICK OFF! 12-6. Leinster get the second half of this URC match underway in Dublin.

HALF TIME! 12-6. The Sharks win the ball back in their own territory and Fassi kicks it out to bring an end to the first half. Leinster have dominated possession and territory in the first period, but have struggled to fully capitalise against a dogged Sharks defence. The visitors, meanwhile, didn't enjoy too many attacking opportunities in Leinster's 22, but did get on the board through Curwin Bosch's boot.

A long period of kick-tennis is brought to an end when Ngatai breaks a couple of tackles for Leinster, but the centre is dragged into touch around the 10-metre line.

The Sharks force the knock-on, but Fassi's kick from the subsequent scrum only travels to the 22-metre line. From the lineout, the Sharks are awarded a short-arm penalty and opt for another scrum.

Leinster end a breathless period of both teams attacking by winning a five-metre scrum after Tommy O'Brien breaks down the right wing.

Leinster build the phases in the Sharks' 22, but lose the ball forward near the tryline. The Sharks clear up to the halfway line, but concede a penalty and are back on defence.

CONVERSION, LEINSTER, BYRNE! 12-6. Byrne lands the conversion to extend Leinster's lead.

TRY, LEINSTER, DEEGAN! 10-6. Deegan marks his 100th appearance with a try! It comes from a quick-tap penalty five metres from the tryline, with the No 8 bashing his way over to give Leinster the lead.

Leinster win a breakdown penalty just outside their 22 and kick up to the halfway line. They win another penalty in a kickable position on the 10-metre, but turn down a potential three points for an attacking lineout

Fassi starts a counter-attack from his own tryline which ends in the Sharks leaping on a loose ball in Leinster's 22, but the home side wins a turnover and clears up to their 22-metre line.

PENALTY MISSED! 5-6. Bosch has another long-range attempt, this time from well behind the halfway line, but his shot goes wide of the poles.

PENALTY, SHARKS, BOSCH! 5-6. Bosch nails his penalty from 50 metres.

The Sharks hold the ball up to win a goal-line drop-out, before working upfield and winning a penalty on the halfway line. Bosch will have a shot from 50 metres.

Leinster break from inside their own 22 and win a penalty inside the Sharks' half. They opt to kick for a lineout in the Sharks' 22.

TRY, LEINSTER, LARMOUR! 5-3. Leinster strike back! The hosts put the Sharks under immense pressure, before spreading the ball out wide for Larmour to score.

PENALTY, SHARKS, BOSCH! 0-3. The Sharks win a penalty from the kick off and opt to take three, with Curwin Bosch making no mistake with his first attempt in front of the poles.

KICK OFF! 0-0. The Sharks get this match underway in Dublin.

The referee for this game is Federico Vedovelli from Italy. He will be assisted by Ireland’s Joy Neville and Paul Haycock. The TMO is Italy’s Stefano Roscini.

Aphiwe Dyantyi will make his comeback from a four-year doping ban, if he is called on from the bench. The Springbok-capped winger will also be making his first appearance since June 2019.

Sharks head coach John Plumtree has also made five changes to this starting lineup. Springboks Aphelele Fassi (fullback) and Rohan Janse van Rensburg (centre) start after playing off the bench in the opening round. In the pack, Hanro Jacobs replaces veteran Coenie Oosthuizen at tighthead prop, Corne Rahl comes in for the injured Reniel Hugo, while Vincent Tshituka replaces George Cronje in the back row, meaning Phepsi Buthelezi switches to No 8. There are two potential debuts from the bench, as capped Springboks Francois Hougaard (scrumhalf) and Aphiwe Dyantyi (wing) are included in the matchday squad for the first time.

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Marnus Potgieter, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Khwezi Mona, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 George Cronje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi.

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made five changes to his starting lineup for their first home game of the season. No 8 Max Deegan will run out for his 100th appearance, while tighthead prop Michael Ala’alatoa is welcomed back after doing World Cup duty for Samoa. Hooker Lee Barron and veteran loose forward Rhys Ruddock also come into the pack. There are two changes to the backline, with outside centre Jamie Osborne and scrumhalf Cormac Foley coming into the starting lineup.

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Jordan Larmour, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Cormac Foley, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny (c), 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Lee Barron, 1 Jack Boyle Replacements: 16 Dylan Donnellan, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Rory McGuire, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Will Connors, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Rob Russell.

The Sharks are currently on a three-match winless run in the URC, stretching back to when they were held to a 22-22 draw by Munster last season.

These two sides last met in last season’s quarter-finals in May, when Leinster made home advantage count to claim a 35-5 victory. The Sharks have only won one of their three matches against the Irish giants, when they held on for a 28-23 victory in Durban in the 2021-22 season.

Leinster’s 43-25 loss in Glasgow was their second in a row in the URC. The eight-time champions are looking to avoid a third successive loss for the first time since 2008.

Both sides are coming off season-opening losses in the first round of the 2023-24 season. Leinster suffered a 43-25 defeat to Glasgow Warriors in Scotland, while the Sharks were beaten 34-21 by defending champions Munster in Limerick.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of this United Rugby Championship second-round match between Leinster and the Sharks at the RDS Arena in Dublin.