Cup finals have a different language to international matches. In many ways they are not about the capped players who have strutted their stuff in the greatest stadiums the game has to offer but about their less exalted colleagues, those for whom a Heineken Cup final represents the apogee of a career.

So this evening's European finale, the fourteenth, at Murrayfield may be hugely influenced by Leinster's Brian O'Driscoll and Rocky Elsom, or Leicester's Geordan Murphy and Ben Kay, but it will also hinge on the homespun skills of individuals such as Cian Healy, the young Leinster prop, and Sam Vesty, the Leicester back.

This season is turning into a tour de force for Vesty. Three weeks ago the fly half was performing at the Millennium Stadium, not only in a vibrant semi-final against Cardiff Blues but extra time and the penalty shoot-out that followed to determine the victor. A week later he was nursing his club through a Guinness Premiership play-off at Twickenham and last weekend came the nerve-shredding Premiership final against London Irish at the same venue.

Now comes another international stadium in the week when he was named, for the first time, in England's senior squad to play Argentina next month. Life, surely, does not get much better, yet his feet are planted firmly on the ground.

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“The last time we were in this position [of playing a Premiership final followed by a European final in 2007], we won handsomely against Gloucester, then played poorly the next week [against London Wasps],” Vesty, 27, said. “An ugly win against London Irish keeps us on our toes.”

But, significantly, there has been no break in Leicester's rhythm over the past two months. They have played week by week with a team showing few changes but bolstered at intervals by experienced players, such as Lewis Moody and Louis Deacon, returning from injury to create greater internal competition. The same has happened this weekend: Martin Castrogiovanni, the Italy tight-head prop, has recovered from the sore neck that kept him out of the Premiership final and sends Julian White back to a star-studded bench.

The other decision that exercised Richard Cockerill, the Leicester coach, was whether to stick with his younger Murphy, Johne, on the wing or restore Alesana Tuilagi, who has completed a four-week suspension. He has opted for the big Samoan, which will disappoint Murphy, who was looking forward to playing against the team he represented at academy and under-21 level. However, he also suffered ankle and shoulder damage against London Irish and Cockerill chooses to keep him among the replacements.

Leinster, since their momentous win over Munster, the holders, in the semi-final at Croke Park this month, have played regularly in the Magners League but have mixed and matched to a far greater degree. The only change to the starting XV that put Munster so firmly in their place is at fly half, where Johnny Sexton - who played like a veteran when Felipe Contepomi limped out of the semi-final with damaged knee ligaments - starts alongside Chris Whitaker, the veteran.

This is Leinster's first final (and Leicester's fifth) and the feeling persists that, in beating Munster by a 19-point margin, they surprised even themselves. France, in World Cups, have turned on the magic in semi-finals only to fall at the final hurdle and this is the trap that Leinster must now avoid.

“We have to make sure we don't get too hyped up and realise the battle is still there to be fought against the team who could easily be called the cup kings of Europe,” Michael Cheika, the Leinster coach, said, but kings must always earn their crown.

How they line up

Leicester: G Murphy (captain); S Hamilton, A Erinle, D Hipkiss, A Tuilagi; S Vesty, J Dupuy; M Ayerza, G Chuter, M Castrogiovanni, T Croft, B Kay, C Newby, B Woods, J Crane. Replacements: B Kayser, J White, L Deacon, L Moody, H Ellis, M Smith, J Murphy.
Leinster: I Nacewa; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, C Whitaker; C Healy, B Jackman, S Wright, L Cullen (captain), M O'Kelly, R Elsom, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: J Fogarty, R McCormack, D Toner, S O'Brien, S Keogh, R Kearney, G Dempsey.
Referee: N Owens (Wales).
Television: Live on Sky Sports 2 from 4.30pm (kick-off 5pm).