Somehow it was always going to come down to this. Sure enough, the inaugural Celtic League has pitted the two best sub-international sides to come out of Ireland in many a year against each other.

Now, it's Judgment Day.

In the red corner, the Immovable Object that has been Munster. In the blue corner, the Irresistible Force that has been Leinster.

Friends for most of the time, foes on the day, at stake is the little piece of history that comes with winning this inaugural competition, the trophy which was made in Chester in 1928 and which has been unearthed for the day from Weirs jewellers, and last but not least: bragging rights for the Yuletide season among supporters and players alike.

Whether it comes close to fulfilling its vast potential or not, even if it's 6-6, there should be plenty happening; there are simply too many fascinating subplots amid the story for it to be dull.

The only pity is that Peter Stringer was officially ruled out last night, thereby joining John Hayes and David Wallace on Munster's casualty list, while the Munster brains trust are still assessing Rob Henderson's knee strain and Jason Holland's troublesome shoulder before finalising their three-quarter line.

Marcus Horan is an awesome talent who rose to the occasion in last week's semi-final and will probably do so again; thanks to the acquisition of World Cup winner Jim Williams, Munster are better able to offset casualties in their back-row, and Mike Prendergast proved the match-winner in the quarter-final win over Llanelli.

Yet, clearly, Munster aren't playing with a full deck and their preparations haven't been helped by having a skeleton back-line in training for most of the week.

They'll still take some beating though, for despite Leinster's haul of 13 straight wins this season, in their own unobtrusive way Munster have stitched together nine wins on the spin. Talk about something having to give.

Like most of the best match-ups, there's an eye-catching contrast in styles. The theory goes, as expounded by Ulster coach Alan Solomons among many others, that "Munster will want to keep the game tight, they'll want the game to be slow, they'll want their pack to dominate possession and for O'Gara to control the game territorially."

Leinster, blessed with world-class match-winners in Brian O'Driscoll and Denis Hickie as well as an authentic and outstanding openside in Keith Gleeson will, for their part, assuredly favour a faster paced and wider game.

If their pack can achieve close to parity, they've got a great chance of a first win in six competitive meetings between the pair, all the more so as the arrival of Nathan Spooner (quite possibly the key player) means that Leinster are no longer punching below their weight.

Then again, pre-match notions are so often turned on their heads, especially if the notions have galvanised opposing players. As Williams observed during the week when it was suggested that Munster's big back-row would augment a slower, mauling game, the pack that's meant to be mauled off the pitch gets their dander up and equally so too do the supposedly inferior back-line.

Imagine a Munster back-line at some point in the game that might have O'Gara, Henderson, Mullins, Anthony Horgan and Jeremy Staunton in it.

Not exactly toothless.

And this being a one-off, as Williams also points out good-naturedly: "There might be a gale blowing, the referee might have a Harry Crocker (shocker)."

Furthermore, the pitch is a patchy pudding which no amount of sand can varnish and finals being notoriously anti-climactic, the pressure of the occasion and the familiarity between the two could ensure an anti-climax.

Welsh official Nigel Whitehouse is, of course, a key man. In the Connacht-Glasgow quarter-final he was particularly severe on ball-carriers going to ground and not releasing, which could mean a steady stream of penalties or turnovers, especially given the presence at the breakdown of Gleeson.

All season long, Munster's proven qualities would have made them favourites, and, until Leinster proved their mettle against the standard-bearers, well, they hadn't really proved anything.

So clear signals of a cocky uprising from their Leinster counterparts on the back of a 13-match winning run would have been grist to Munster's mill. The Munster Brains Trust would have had all the ammunition necessary to motivate their men.

All of that still rings true. Now though, as the final looms, not only are Leinster the more potent force, but they're also more settled. Munster have been harder hit by injuries and it's hard not to think the absence of Hayes, Wallace and Stringer won't be felt.

Either way, and whether it flows like a river or not, at the very least it should be an enthralling head-to-head between Ireland's finest, and a fitting first final.

The kick-off can't come soon enough and, most probably, full-time can only come too soon.

Cash will be taken at turnstiles.