Leicester v Leinster: Teams

After a long road through the Pool stages and some tough battles in the knockout rounds, only Leicester and Leinster remain stranding to fight it out for this season's Heineken Cup.

Murrayfield will host the final of European club rugby's premier competition with so much on the line for both sides.

The Tigers make the trip up to Edinburgh knowing they are just 80 minutes away from completing an impressive league and cup double.

They claimed the Guinness Premiership title last weekend at Twickenham with a hard-fought 10-9 victory over London Irish.

Double delight

Saturday will be their fifth appearance in the Heineken Cup final and they are the only side to have ever managed back-to-back European triumphs, lifting the trophy in 2001 and then again in 2002.

In contrast Leinster have never been this far in the competition, leaving coach Michael Cheika with the difficult task of making sure his players do not get carried away by the big occasion.

"This week has been about trying to stay relaxed and focused - while also making sure we don't get hijacked emotionally by the whole occasion," he said.

"We are not short of confidence and we have to make sure we don't get carried away with the moment, that we simply concentrate on the job to be done.

"We just have to be composed and focused about everything we do this week. And as we have not been in a final before we have to make sure we don't get too hyped up and realise that the battle is still there to be fought."

Cheika has had the chance to keep his players fresh since their stunning semi-final success over rivals Munster at Croke Park.

Big names Leo Cullen, Rocky Elsom and Brian O'Driscoll all return to the starting XV having been rested for the final Magners League fixture.

The only change from the side that triumphed in their last Heineken Cup outing sees Jonathan Sexton start at fly-half.

The number 10 came off the bench against Munster to replace the injured Felipe Contepomi, who tore a cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first half of the all-Irish clash.

Unlike his counterpart, Leicester head coach Richard Cockerill has not had the opportunity to leave out some of his leading lights.

There are just two changes from the side that started against the Exiles, Alesana Tuilagi returning from suspension to start on the wing.

The other switch comes in the pack, where prop Martin Castrogiovanni comes into the front row. Johne Murphy and Julian White drop to the bench.

Performance

Cockerill knows the Tigers, who will be captained by Irishman Geordan Murphy, must perform better than they did last Saturday if they are to take the trophy back to Welford Road again.

"We didn't play as well as we would have liked with ball in hand and our line-up and scrum was a bit sloppy," he said. "We've got to be better this week.

"In some ways, not playing so well has galvanised us a bit more. We've re-focused our minds quite quickly.

"Guys are a bit worried about keeping their spots and that's a good reminder for everybody. In some ways it did us a favour."

Leicester: 15 Geordan Murphy (capt), 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Ayoola Erinle, 12 Dan Hipkiss, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Sam Vesty, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Ben Woods, 6 Craig Newby, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Tom Croft, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Julian White, 18 Louis Deacon, 19 Lewis Moody, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Matt Smith, 22 Johne Murphy.

Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Chris Whitaker, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 4 Leo Cullen (capt), 3 Stan Wright, 2 Bernard Jackman, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 John Fogarty, 17 Ronan McCormack, 18 Devin Toner, 19 Sean O'Brien, 20 Simon Keogh, 21 Rob Kearney, 22 Girvan Dempsey.