Three-time champions Leinster will look to qualify for the last eight of the European Champions Cup this weekend and avoid Ireland suffering the ignominy of being without a team in the knockout stages for the first time in 17 years.
Ulster and two-time champions Munster fell by the wayside last weekend leaving just Leinster in contention.
But they face a daunting trip to in-form English side Wasps in the final round of pool matches.
Their hosts also entertain hopes of reaching the last eight as victory over fellow Premiership side Harlequins last weekend left them just two points adrift of Leinster in Pool 2.
Defeat for the Irish side would not be catastrophic as a losing bonus point would still guarantee them one of the three allocated places in the quarter-finals for the best runners-up.
However, the players are not travelling to Coventry for the match with that in mind as testified to by prop Michael Bent, who was part of the team that destroyed Castres 50-8 last Saturday.
"Wasps have different threats that we've got to address," Bent told the Leinster team website.
"It's going to be quite a tough battle up front, so we need to prepare for that. I think we just do our preparation right like we did last week, and a couple of minor tweaks and a few areas that we want to improve on, and go from there," added the 28-year-old New Zealand-born front rower, who is a full Irish international having qualified through his Irish grandmother.
Leinster, though, will have to achieve something that only Harlequins back in October managed -- when Wasps were still playing their home games in Wycombe before their move to Coventry in December -- and that is beat the English side on home turf.
"As the season has progressed, Wasps seem to be getting better and better. We're certainly going to have to lift our game and take it to them at the weekend," said Bent.
"We know they're going to be tough up front. We've just got to sort that out straightaway. We'll just be looking for a really good start and to get points on the board early."
Wasps head coach Dai Young is looking forward to the clash but has urged his players to forget the win at Harlequins and finish off the job against the Irish powerhouses.
"We've just got to back it up now, as we've given ourselves a real chance, and if we don't back it up, beating Harlequins won't have counted for anything," said the 47-year-old former Wales prop.
"We've got a huge battle ahead of us against Leinster, who have had such success and a strong tradition in Europe, but we're looking forward to welcoming them to the Ricoh Arena next Saturday and I'm sure it's going to be a fantastic occasion and the boys are already really excited about it."
Another top of the table decider on Saturday features Northampton at home to big-spending French side Racing-Metro with both sides locked on 19 points in Pool 5.
"In order not to have to count on what other teams do, we will do what we need to at Northampton," said Racing-Metro coach Laurent Travers.
"We are the only unbeaten side in the competition, and we are going to try and stay that way, which will ensure we get a home quarter-final."
On Sunday, in-form English side Bath look to back up their impressive away win at four-time European champions Toulouse when they host Glasgow, who thrashed them in the first meeting.
Bath and their visitors both still entertain hopes of progressing and while Toulouse should top the table, they play an already eliminated Montpellier, the winners of the clash could secure a best runners-up spot.
Source: AFP
