Leinster have been handed the kind of pre-final news that changes the feel of a week. Caelan Doris is fit to start Friday's United Rugby Championship final against the Vodacom Bulls, Tadhg Furlong returns to the line-up, and Irish Rugby's own update says Dan Sheehan has also been passed fit. That does not make the final simple. It makes it sharper.

The selection lift

According to the BBC's match preview, captain Caelan Doris is fit to start and Tadhg Furlong returns to the Leinster side. RTÉ reports Leinster have made three changes for the BKT United Rugby Championship final, with Furlong among the returns. Irish Rugby adds that Doris and Dan Sheehan have both been passed fit for the showdown with the Bulls.

When the leaders come back, the question changes. It stops being "who's missing?" and becomes "can Leinster make all that quality count when the room gets loud?"

Why the Bulls rematch has teeth

This is the calm before the collision: Leinster restored by key returns, the Bulls arriving with enough edge to make the final feel less like a coronation and more like a reckoning. If Leinster are close to full strength, there is nowhere left to hide — and that is exactly what makes the occasion breathe.

Sources