Thirteen of the 24 Heineken Cup clubs met at the Madejski Stadium for the UK launch of the 15th Heineken Cup.
It was a chance for the captains and coaches of the Englsh, Welsh and Scottish sides to check each other out ahead of the big kick-off in 10 days time.
The Madejski Stadium is the home to Guinness premiership side London Irish, their campaign begins at the home of the reigning champions Leinster in Dublin on 9 October.
"We are back in the Heineken Cup after a year away and we have learned a lot as a group of players and coaches in that time," said London Irish coach Toby Booth.
"We want to test ourselves against the best teams and we certainly have that opportunity in our pool with Leinster, Scarlets and Brive.
"I think it is easier to predict the end of the economic downfall than it is to say what is going to happen in this pool.
"It will be great to go to Dublin to face the reigning champions. We have a lot of fans looking for bragging rights over them.
"History tells that you need to get results at home in this tournament to do well - solid home form is the thing.
"We have three non English team in our pool and that presents different challenges."
