London Irish coach Toby Booth is relishing the challenge of taking on Europe’s top teams when the Heineken Cup kicks off this weekend.

The fixtures come no tougher than an opening day trip to holders Leinster, but Booth insists his side are up to the test.

"It is probably easier to predict the end of the economic downturn than go to Leinster first up in the competition," he smirked.

"But we welcome the challenge and we’ve got a lot of historical fans that will be looking for bragging rights.

"It will be an extremely big occasion and an extremely difficult place to go.

"We have to be pragmatic with the opportunities we get and even in horrific conditions such as the Harlequins game last year we can still provide a good spectacle and that is what the competition is about."

Booth believes his side are better equipped to take on Europe’s elite after failing to qualify for last year’s competition.

"We’re back in the competition after a year out last year and we got to the semi-final stages two years ago," he explained.

"We’ve learned a lot as a club and a group of players and we’re ready to fight on two fronts again and test ourselves against the best."

With matches against Llanelli Scarlets and Brive also awaiting Irish, Booth considers home form key to progression from the pool stage.

"History will tell you that you need to play well at home and get results at home," the coach claimed.

"How you get on away from home will dictate whether you progress or not.

"We’ve got to play three non-English sides which brings different challenges but if we can win our home fixtures and pick up some points on the road then we’ll be giving ourselves a good chance."

Despite the mountain his side will have to climb, Booth is dreaming of bringing home the Heineken Cup from the Stade de France next May.

He added: "It would be fantastic to bring the trophy back to the Madjeski.

"I’d welcome it with open arms but unfortunately there are a few good teams between us and then."

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