London Irish are riding high at the top of Pool 1 after their bonus point victory at Bordeaux-Begles - and they are quick to demonstrate they have every intention of staying in control of the group in the race for group honours and knock-out stage qualification.
But Mont de Marsan, the visitors to the Madejski Stadium on Saturday, gave Gloucester a real scare before having to settle for a losing bonus point and London Irish Director of Rugby Brian Smith is leaving nothing to chance.
"Mont de Marsan showed a lot of guts and determination last weekend against Gloucester," he said.
"We expect they'll be fired up for another shot at an England based team and we look forward to meeting that challenge head on."
Declan Danaher returns to captain a star-studded London Irish side in place of Ofisa Treviranus in the back row and England Under 20 star, Anthony Watson, will line up at full back in place of Steven Shingler.
