Rush keeps place in Blues back row

The British & Irish Lions duo have been confined to bench duty for the classic Anglo-Welsh showdown at the Millennium Stadium as their respective coaches have plumped for overseas talent.

Scrum half Ellis misses out at No 9 to the man whose last gasp try guided the Tigers into the last four, Frenchman Julian Dupuy, while No 8 Powell will once again play second fiddle to ex-All Black blockbuster Rush.

But the Blues will field five of the 2009 Lions tour party in their starting XV - Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Gethin Jenkins and Martyn Williams - as they try to stay on course for their second title of the season.

Having bagged the EDF Energy Cup at Twickenham last month, they now have their sights firmly fixed on becoming champions of Europe.

The Tigers, of course, have won the Heineken Cup twice before and are aiming for a fifth final. While Ellis is their only 2009 Lions pick, their squad contains former Lions in Geordan Murphy, Ben Kay, Julian White and Lewis Moody.

Munster's only change from their quarter-final side that crushed the Ospreys is the return of Peter Stringer at scrum half.

The veteran Stringer takes over from the unfortunate 2009 Lions selection Tomos O'Leary, who broke his ankle against the Scarlets last week. It means they will be parading seven of the 2009 tourists - Keith Earls, Ronan O'Gara, Jerry Flannery, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Alan Quinlan and David Wallace - against a Leinster side that will feature Leinster's trio - Brian O'Driscoll, Luke Fitzgerald and Jamie Heaslip.

In totoal, there will be 26 current or former Lions on display at Croke Park and the Millennium Stadium this weekend. No wonder, therefore, that there will be crowds of more than 120,000 at the two games.

Croke Park is an 81,000+ sell-out, while the Millennium Stadium is expecting up to 50,000 for the Blues v Tigers match. Tickets for that game are on sale over the weekedn and on the day of the game.