Will Greenwood's Tie of Round 2

"The Heineken Cup returned to stadiums across Europe over the weekend and injected some much needed passion and intensity to a fairly mundane opening to the domestic season. When you look at some of the results and performances from the matches played, it reminds you what is so special about the Heineken Cup. Who honestly could hold their hands up and say they picked Italian 'minnows' Treviso to beat one of the pre tournament favourites, Perpignan, while the effort by London Irish in shocking the champions, Leinster, in their own backyard thrust them from dark horses to one of the favourites for the whole competition.

The double header nature of the Heineken Cup means that teams barely have time to catch their breath before the next instalment comes thick and fast. The fact that no side in the history of the competition has ever won the Heineken Cup losing their first two games will hang heavy over those who made less than convincing starts last week. Clubs such as last season's quarter finalists Harlequins and Bath, or the Irish heavyweights of Munster and Leinster will be keenly aware that one more slip up, and the mountain to qualify will have become Everest in proportion.

The second round at the Stoop on Saturday night will bring together two teams who enjoyed wildly fluctuating fortunes in their opening matches in the competition, in a game that is my pick of the weekend's action.

Quins were very disappointing as they ran into a Cardiff side seemingly energised by the Heineken Cup, and were deservedly beaten in South Wales. The hangover from events in the summer shows no signs of dissipating just yet and they need to work some magic, and quickly, if they are to retain any interest in the tournament beyond October.

By contrast, Toulouse romped to a fairly routine bonus point win over Sale Sharks and look in the mood to dominate both this pool, and the competition, as they seek to write their name on the trophy for a record fourth time. They ran in five tries, two through the tournament's record try scorer, Vincent Clerc, and will travel to South West London in confident mood.

Last season's quarter finalists will meet the French giants knowing that defeat at home will effectively see them out of the tournament at the earliest possible stage. A dramatic turnaround is required by John Kingston's men, and it will be a tough ask given their form so far this season.

Without the hard edge that surely would have been provided by the rested England internationals, Easter, Care and Monye, Quins' soft underbelly was exposed last weekend, and they are also missing players such as Mike Ross, who quietly departed in the summer. Time and again last season the Irish tight-head provided the platform on which Quins' success was built and it's clear they've missed that this year.

You can't fault Quin's bottle, mental strength and nerve, their dogged win over Bath in the Premiership recently proved that, but they are making too many errors at the moment, and with the change in leadership dynamics, their edge has been dulled.

Last year, Quins famously ground out a win against Stade Francais following a 26-phase move in the last passage of the game - it will take similar mental strength if they are to stop the destructive pace and skill of the back three of Clerc, Medard and Donguy. The Toulouse backs are harnessed superbly by Jean-Baptiste Elissalde at number 10, and Quins' brittle confidence will be tested to the full. If heads drop, then the game could get away from them very quickly, so the on field leadership of Will Skinner will be crucial in the thick of the action.

Doing the basics well and alert decision-making will be required if Quins are to prosper, and the Stoop crowd will be desperate to be given something to cheer early on. The club's fans have stuck with the club through all the problems this summer, and will therefore hope that this weekend their faith in the side will begin to be repaid.

It's likely to be a cracking game under lights, the 6pm kick offs in the Heineken Cup generate such a fantastic atmosphere, and I hope that Quins' will take the game to 'Les Toulousains'. If they can come through this test, they may just see a glimmer of light in turning their season around."