Caelan Doris leads Leinster with Lions stars at his disposal for Champions Cup final

The ever-reliable Leinster and Ireland back row Caelan Doris will captain his side in Bilbao as they chase a long-awaited fifth star in Saturday’s Champions Cup final against Bordeaux-Bègles.

Doris’s rugby presence and prowess will be crucial if Leinster, boosted by an influx of British & Irish Lions talent, are to be victorious, with the defending champions Bordeaux boasting a wealth of talent and experience themselves.

It’s hard to imagine a more consistent player than him.

This season alone, across all competitions, the Irishman has racked up an impressive 197 carries (something the 6ft 4 back row seems to relish and dominate with ball in hand) made over 500 meters with those carries and has a deadly pass accuracy that would be the envy of other back rows.

In the last ten games, he has played the full 80 minutes eight of those times.  

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Born-leader “Giraffe”

I was lucky enough to see him in Cardiff during the Guinness Men’s Six Nations 2025.

He was unable to play due to injury but from where I sat I saw that the captain was still heavily involved in the pre match warm up and remained on the touchline where he could be seen and offer advise if needed.

Even when injured it appeared that he has to be involved and would do all in his power to win the game even if he couldn’t lead from the front.  

Apparently known as “The Giraffe” due to his remaining at hight during carries, he has proved time and again that he can lead from the front and keep his team in the big games.

Not afraid to make a break himself, with or without support, Doris regularly can be seen splitting defences open and charging up the field at speed.

It is believed that the back row missed out on the British & Irish Lions captaincy due to injury.

However, in his absence, Doris appears to have reflected on his game and made improvements where needed.

Doris vital to Leinster’s success

On occasion Doris has been too short with match officials or struggled to move on from a decision.

Yet this season, across all competitions, the captain appears to be more in control and picking his battles wisely.

This is not uncommon in Irish rugby.

His predecessor Johnny Sexton was not afraid to have his say no matter who he was talking to or what the decision was and yet he went on to lead Ireland to a Grand Slam in 2023.

In the form of his life and hungry to write last year’s wrongs, Doris will be vital in achieving victory on Saturday alongside a battle-hardened group of Lions and URC champions, and as Leinster appear to be clicking just in time, there is every possibility that we will see a blue shirt adorned with a fifth star next season.  

Leinster Rugby team to face Bordeaux-Bègles

Leinster: Keenan, O’Brien, Ringrose, Henshaw, Ioane, Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Clarkson, Ryan, McCarthy, Conan, Van der Flier, Doris (c)

Replacements: Kelleher, P. McCarthy, Furlong, Mangan, Deegan, McGrath, Frawley, Osborne

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