The Wexford back-five forward came through the ranks at Leinster and supported the province as a youngster.
But after enjoying stints at Plymouth Albion and Rotherham Titans in English Championship, Copeland joined Cardiff in the summer and he is relishing his return to Dublin.
“It’s a game I’ve obviously been looking forward to for a couple of months. I supported Leinster when I was younger, lived in Dublin for four years and still have a lot of friends there,” said Copeland
“I’ve played with Sean O’Brien, Cian Healy, Jack McGrath, who was also my next-door neighbour, and the likes of Luke Fitzgerald and Eoin O’Malley I played with at age-group level.
“So it will be good to play against them in front of my friends and family.”
The last time the Celtic capital city rivals clashed was in last year’s Heineken cup quarter-finals as Leinster cruised to a 34-3 victory.
Copeland was a spectator in the Aviva Stadium crowd for the April encounter and while he is well aware of the strengths of Leinster he reckons the Blues can gain revenge.
“I don’t think there’s a better opportunity to go there and get a result. Leinster are not playing as well as they want so we have to go out early, get that doubt in their heads and push on for the result,” added Copeland
“That Heineken Cup game hasn’t been mentioned. There are different coaches and a lot of different players here now. It’s completely different set of circumstances.”
Eight Cardiff players have been selected in Wales’ squad for the autumn internationals but all bar Harry Robinson are available for the RDS clash.
