Heineken Cup Final Preview

Leinster vs. Northampton

I am getting stupidly excited about this game!
These are the two teams that deserve to be in the final, and what a final it has the potential to be.
Northampton have plenty of grunt up front and lethal finishers out wide. Leinster have plenty of grunt up front, but probably don't have the same calibre of lethal finishing out wide. What they do have is a far more unpredictable midfield.
James Downey is going to do what he does best, direct running and bashing it up the middle. He will feel that he has a point to prove to the Irish selectors in this game and no better time to try and prove a point than in a big final against the man whose shirt you're after.
Roger Wilson is another man out to prove his worth. While he's not as dynamic as Jamie Heaslip, he does offer a tough physical edge and robust ball carrying to his game (I personally would have him ahead of Denis Leamy).
Both Leinster and Northampton are capable of playing the game tight when they need to and throwing the ball around when the time is right. (Let's hope that the time is right a lot!!)
Now the scrum. Does Joe Schmidt go with Heinke Van der Merwe to try and nulify the big Northampton scrum? Van der Merwe is a better scrummager than Cian Healy but Healy is more mobile in the loose. Do you start Van der Merwe and then unleash Healy to cause some destruction with his ball carrying when Northampton are starting to tire? Or, do you start Healy and have him compete with Soane Tonga'uiha around the park?
Another selection issue is at scrum half. Do you go with Eoin Reddan for his snappier service or do you go with Isaac Boss for his extra physicality? Northampton have some huge ball carriers in the frames of Downey, Wilson, Courtney Laws, Dylan Hartley and the ultra destructive Tonga'uiha. With men like that in the opposition Boss' physicality could come in handy. On the other hand, do you want to get your backline, especially the midfield in this game, moving.
Whichever players Schmidt goes with, like a good friend of mine said: 'In Schmidt we trust!'

I think Leinster will come out on top in this game due to a better midfield and while Northampton have very big ball carriers up front I feel the Leinster pack are a bit more street wise.

COME ON LEINSTER!!!! Let the legacy continue!