truebluefan

Before then here are a few landmarks to look out for ...
Leicester Tigers' Geordan Murphy becoming the 45th player to qualify for an ERC Elite Award for playing 50 games in the tournament - and the 23rd Irishman to earn an ERC cap.

The Irish international ended last season on 49 appearances and, if selected, will be hoping to crown his 50th European game with a revenge victory over Leinster in Dublin this weekend. Murphy launched his Heineken Cup career with a 27-20 defeat against Leinster at Donnybrook on 19 November, 1999.

Andy Goode and Martin Corry are the only other survivors from the Leicester Tigers side that day, while the Leinster team included Grvan Dempsey, Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Malcolm O'Kelly and Leo Cullen. Leinster also won the return leg at Welford Road, 32-10 to rub salt into the wounds.

Munster's Shaun Payne becoming the 46th player to pick up an ERC cap when he makes his 50th Heineken Cup appearance. The recently appointed Munster team manager is still playing and needs one more game to become the 11th player from the Province to join the ERC Elite cap club. Unlike the other 10, not all of Payne's appearances were for Munster - he made 22 appearances in the tournament for Swansea.

Munster's Ronan O'Gara moving ever closer to breaking 900 points in the Heineken Cup. The tournament's leading scorer with 841, he needs 59 to stretch his tournament record.

His points average per game in the Heineken Cup is 12.7.

His nearest rivals, who are still active in the tournament, have the following average: Stephen Jones (Scarlets - 669 pts / 59 games) 11.3
David Humphreys (Ulster - 554 / 55) 10
Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz Olympique - 346 / 38) 9.1
Andy Goode (Leicester Tigers - 341 / 40) 8.5
Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (Toulouse - 316 / 32) 9.8
Felipe Contepomi (Leinster - 294 / 23) 12.7
Alex King (ASM Clermont Auvergne - 294 / 50) 5.8
Gavin Henson (Ospreys - 244 / 27) 9
David Skrela (Stade Francais Paris - 227 / 32) 7

Leinster's Felipe Contepomi becoming the 13th player in Heineken Cup history to top 300 points and become only the second non-European player to do so. The first was Cook Islands international Tommy Hayes, who notched 388 points for Glasgow Warriors. Contepomi needs four points to reach 300.

Irish international referee Alan Lewis edging ever closer to 50 Heineken Cup appearances when he controls the Round 1 game between Perpignan and the Dragons. That will take him to 46 matches in the tournament. England's Chris White and France's Joel Jutge are three behind him.

The return to Paris of Rugby World Cup final referee Alain Rolland. The Irish official will be at Stade Jean Bouin for the opening round match in Pool 3 between French champions Stade Francais Paris and Harlequins.

Leicester Tigers making their fifth trip to Dublin to face Leinster and playing at their third different venue. They made their debut in the tournament at Lansdowne Road in 1996, winning 27-10, but lost at Donnybrook on their next two visits in 1997 and 1999. They triumphed again in the 2005 quarter-final at Lansdowne Road.

The Tigers have a 50% record on Irish soil in the Heineken Cup. As well as those two defeats to Leinster they suffered their record European defeat at Ravenhill when Ulster beat them 33-0 in 2003. Last season they became the first team to win at Thomond Park when they beat Munster 13-6.

Rugby World Cup hooking rivals Raphael Ibanez (London Wasps) and Jerry Flannery (Munster) possibly going head-to-head at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, when the 'Pool of Death' kicks-off with a game between the reigning champions and the 2006 winners.

French skipper Ibanez came out on top at the Pool stages in France 2007. The game could well also feature a fascinating private battle between Irish scrum halves Eoin Reddan (Wasps) and Peter Stringer (Munster).