This game has all the makings of a league decider and with these two teams almost guaranteed 1st and 2nd spot in the Rabo it could quite easily be a rehearsal for the league final on the 31st of May.
Leinster are the home team although the game has been moved to the Aviva stadium due to high ticket demand, with 50,000 already sold. Before any words are said on the game itself it has to be said that a crowd of this size is good for Irish rugby and the Pro12. They are numbers that Welsh and Scottish unions could only dream of.
One of the reasons that there will be so many attending Saturday's game is that there will be a feast of talent on offer. Of the match day 23 in Ireland's title winning game in Paris earlier this month, 15 come from Leinster. This says two things, that there will be immense amounts of Irish talent in the Leinster team but also that Irish stars that missed out from Munster will have a point to prove.
One such man is Simon Zebo, he has been playing outstandingly throughout the Six Nations whilst the internationals have been away from the Rabo, this will be a big test for him to show that he is up to the standard that Joe Schmidt wants in the Irish set up.
Another man who missed out on the Six Nations will unfortunately have to sit this game out. Donnacha Ryan is out with a foot injury he sustained last weekend against Treviso.
There will be several mouth watering match ups on offer. Zebo against the man who has taken his Ireland jersey, Dave Kearney is only one of these. The will be an equally interesting battle in the centres with the maestro Brian O'Driscoll up against Casey Laulala.
Leinster have more guile and firepower in their backline but Munster could edge them up front, which is where games are won and lost. It is going to be a tight affair. Both teams will know the importance of Saturdays game, in terms of the league and the psychology for the future.
The team that wins this should finish top of the table and play the 'easier' of the semi-finals likely to be Glasgow Warriors. The loser is likely to play Ulster, a team with enough quality to beat both these sides and proved so at the start of the year by taking Munster apart.
It this regard it is a must win game, and whoever does win has a far clearer path to the final. If this fixture does become the final which many expect it to be, the winner this weekend will have a definite upper hand in two months time when silverware is at stake.
For the 50,000 fans packed inside the Aviva and those watching at home it promises to be a great game that both sides need to win and attacking positive rugby should be the order of the day.
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