Brian The Centre Of Attention - Raschi

Bourgoin, who qualified for the French Championship semi-finals last season before going out 32-27 to eventual champions Biarritz Olympique, travel to Dublin for their away leg on Saturday with Raschi wary of not only any O'Driscoll ambush but also of the fire power of the entire Leinster team.

Leinster captain O'Driscoll is poised to return following the shoulder injury he suffered leading the British and Irish Lions in the first Test against New Zealand in June with Raschi declaring: Brian O'Driscoll is one of the best centres in world rugby.

"The fact that he is being approached by almost every club in France is proof of that. Obviously it may make things easier for us if he is not playing, but they have a quality squad and they are certainly going to be able to put out a strong team."

Raschi has ended nine seasons of playing involvement in Europe, be it in either the Heineken Cup or European Challenge Cup, and now it is his influence from the touch lines that will be crucial.

"Our game against Leinster is very important to us - but not because we want revenge," he said, referring to the 92-17 hammering they took at Lansdowne Road in Round 3 of last season's tournament.

"We are very aware of the fact that our poor performances in the last few seasons have given us a reputation of being cheats and spoiling things," said the former back row forward, whose side beat ASM Clermont Auvergne 22-11 in the Top 14 on Saturday.

"For us, the games against Leinster in particular are about showing people the real Bourgoin, that we have real heart as a team and that we want to do well in this tournament. I think we have it in us to win.

"We are lucky enough to have a full squad available for the games against Leinster which will enable us to be real competitors in the Pool.
"Since I was first involved in the Heineken cup in 1996 the tournament has evolved in terms of prestige, quality and its importance to the clubs.

"When I scored a try in our first game, the tournament was very much a secondary competition to the French league - as I think it was to all of the teams taking part. But today the Heineken Cup has developed to a point where I believe that it's the No 1 objective for all of the teams involved, including Bourgoin.

"It is true that we have not been able to compete in previous years because of a lack of full time players and that is something we have addressed. Despite the fact that as the season wore on we went into a real injury crisis, we picked up our performances towards the end of the Pool stages last year and that is something we are looking to build on throughout this season. We are certainly ready for a big campaign!

"It's interesting that we have almost the same Pool as last year. Obviously it's easier in terms of match preparation when we know the opposition and the ground we are playing in while, of course, the opposition has the same advantage as well. However, Glasgow are a new team and it's always a pleasure to go to Scotland."