Those folks out in Donnybrook deserve to be applauded for their initiative on this one. The phrase 'The Last Stand' has entered the lexicon of south Dublin in the past few weeks, and the Leinster Branch, who've already sold 40,000 tickets for the game, are expecting a full house once the stragglers who aren't inclined to prebook roll up to IRFU headquarters this afternoon.

Everybody present should be in for a bit of a treat, too.

Last season these sides were in contention for the Celtic League title right up until the very last minute of the last set of matches . . . when David Humphreys' drop-goal stole the title for Ulster . . . and you can be sure they'll both be there or thereabouts, probably with the likes of Llanelli and the Ospreys, come the final set of fixtures on 11/12 May 2007. With Ulster holding a seven-point lead over Leinster in the league table, it's a game Michael Cheika's side need to win a little more desperately than their visitors, but need alone won't be enough to win this one. The biggest problem for the home side is recovering from their exertions against Munster on Wednesday.

Last week, the Leinster coach spoke about how he wanted to balance his playing resources out over the course of his side's two Christmas games but that his players weren't up for it. Instead, every one of them expressed a desire to play against Munster at Thomond Park, which would suggest that they haven't been eyeing the Ulster game with quite the same desire. Of course, once they're out on the pitch, you don't doubt that they'll put every sinew of effort into proceedings, but the fact of the matter is that they may not have all that much left in the tank to give. Four day turnarounds might be alright in soccer, but not rugby.

The good news for Leinster is that Felipe Contepomi has been declared fit. For a brief moment on Wednesday it appeared that the decision to spring the out-half from the bench had backfired as he clutched his knee after barely 30 seconds on the pitch, but the man's a doctor afterall and you just know he wouldn't have allowed himself play if he wasn't ready for it.

Having just put pen to paper on a new two-year contract with the province, he'll be mad keen to get his side back on the winning road today, a sentiment that his coach echoes in spades.

"It's very important that we get a win and keep the pack tight behind Ulster in the league table, " says Cheika. "The first obstacle will be trying to overcome the disappointment of the defeat to Munster the other day. We let an opportunity slip by.

After reviewing the match we now need to make sure that we rectify our problems."

Discipline around the contact zone is the area that their coach is most likely referring to, and it's a problem that has frequently popped up onto the agenda under Cheika's reign. Against Munster on Wednesday, Alan Lewis took a clear disliking to Leinster's tendency to use their hands on the deck and lie all over the ball at the breakdown, and although they may have been hard done by on a couple of occasions, they'll need to be more discreet this afternoon.

If they get on George Clancy's bad side, David Humphreys is well capable of doing exactly what Ronan O'Gara did during the week.

Ulster, meanwhile, should be a little fresher than their hosts thanks to their extra day's rest this week but they too have something to work on. They took their time in putting away Connacht side on St Stephen's Day at Ravenhill, leaving Mark McCall a little exasperated in the process. "We were disappointed with that game because we set high standards for ourselves as a team and we dropped below those for most of the game against Connacht, " says the Ulster coach. You'd imagine Ulster have been working hard on their line-out since their outof-touch blip against Connacht and it could be worthwhile. Whoever wins the battle out of touch this afternoon will go a long way towards winning this particular game and in that context, the battle between Matt McCullough and Trevor Hogan in the respective second-rows will be interesting to watch. Both players are on the fringes of Eddie O'Sullivan's Ireland squad and while the Ulster man has been given the nod in the recent past, Hogan's form of late would suggest that it's going to be a closer call when the Six Nations comes around.

As for the little matter of the outcome, you get the feeling that Ulster have been targeting this fixture. Having messed up badly away from home in the Heineken Cup once again this season, today's derby game gives them one of their final opportunities to take a big scalp on their travels this season.

With anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 Ulster fans expected at Lansdowne Road for the occasion, the pumped up visitors should just have enough to win this one, particularly if Leinster don't heed the lessons from midweek.

LEINSTER R Kearney; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll (c), G D'Arcy, D Hickie; J Sexton, C Whitaker; R McCormack, B Jackman, W Green, T Hogan, M O'Kelly, S Keogh, K Gleeson, J Heaslip ULSTERM Bartholomeusz/B Cunningham; T Bowe, P Steinmetz, K Maggs/P Wallace, A Trimble; D Humphreys/P Wallace, I Boss; B Young, R Best, S Best (c), J Harrison, M McCullough, N Best, K Dawson, R Wilson MAGNERS LEAGUE LEINSTER v ULSTER Lansdowne Road, 2.00 Live, Setanta Sports, 1.30 Referee G Clancy (IRFU)