London Irish are possibly the best club team in Europe - and that accolade comes from Brive captain Fabrice Estebanez in the wake of their 36-3 home defeat by Bob Casey's team in a fiery contest that included a red and two yellow cards.
Brive have yet to bank a Pool 6 point at the halfway stage but Estebanez is adamant "We won't send a B team to Reading because we respect the competition and we still have to prove that we can compete.
"And seeing all the work achieved in the last two seasons so that the club could reach this stage and return to the top, we won't waste our efforts now.
"It won't be an easy task but we will play to the best of our ability and make the most of the opportunity. We have players who need game time and others need rest, so we'll find a good balance to be competitive as we want to go there and produce a performance.
"But I can't really say that they have any weaknesses. They base their game on a strong defence up front and they have two ace players in centre Seilala Mapusua and No 8 Chris Hala'ufia who did a lot of damage.
"They are good at gaining territory and their line-out is probably one of the best in Europe so they are in a very good position to finish top of our group and I think it's London Irish who will go furthest in the competition.
"But, discipline aside, we must admit that we approached the game on the wrong foot from the start and we put ourselves in danger.
"I don't think we were well prepared psychologically for the game as we had a tough game against Toulouse the weekend before in Top 14 that drained us of our energy. And we should have worked harder in terms of concentration for the Heineken Cup game because in that competition there's no room for error.
"It's a lot harder than our domestic league and requires a lot of commitment so if you are not at 100 % when you play international teams of that calibre you pay a heavy price.
"Having come half-way into the Heineken Cup Pool phases in my first season in this tournament I can tell you that we definitely came up against the best of the best in Europe.
"Despite the results you get, you can only get some positive out of the whole experience because it is a great way to learn and improve your game. You build up confidence and experience and it's a good thing in future.
"You can see how well the most experienced players react in this tournament; they are quicker, sharper and control the game in such a way showing you are in a different sphere.
"A lot of our players hadn't yet competed in the Heineken Cup and we are all learning from it and appreciating the quality and standard of the competition. We hope to be part of it again next season to have another go and get the chance to be more competitive.
"Of course we were disappointed in the way the game turned because there was definitely room for us to score more points and it could have had an impact as the game went on.
"However, with nil points on the table, our chances to go through now are virtually over but it's not the end yet. We want to win our last games as it is important for us.
"The only way for us to remain in the Heineken Cup next year - and that's what we want - is to qualify through the Top 14 so we'll focus on that and get the results we need."
