One of the more remarkable aspects of the qualifying rounds of the Heineken Cup was that English clubs emerged as the top three seeds for this weekend's quarter-finals but neither London Wasps, the holders, nor Leicester were among them. It is equally possible that not one of that trio will be standing by tomorrow evening.

Neither London Irish, who play Perpignan in Reading this afternoon, nor Saracens, who host the Ospreys at Vicarage Road tomorrow, have experienced such rarefied European heights, while Gloucester, who meet Munster at Kingsholm tonight, have reached the knockout phase only twice.

Perhaps the best hope lies with London Irish, who beat their French opponents at the Madejski Stadium this season. They came through 24-16 in a pool match in December, a contest in which Perpignan believe they suffered unduly at the hands of Malcolm Changleng, the Scottish referee. A week later they made the point in a feisty match at the Stade Aimé Giral during which Kieran Roche, the London Irish flanker, received a fractured eye socket after a blow by Perry Freshwater.

Freshwater, the England prop, was banned for four weeks and today his role is confined to the bench, but London Irish expect a hard-nosed afternoon. “Perpignan have made no secret that they have gone back to old-school tactics,” Brian Smith, the director of rugby, said. “We know what's coming, we haven't forgotten about Kieran Roche out there, we're ready.”

Gloucester, too, seek a game of movement against Munster, who prefer Tomas O'Leary to Peter Stringer at scrum half. Gloucester have picked a back division to play and have included Mike Tindall on the bench. “We believe we're moving towards a time when we can compete more regularly with this quality of opposition,” Dean Ryan, the Gloucester director of rugby, said. “But we're nowhere near where they are.”

Saracens failed to perform to their true capacity when they lost 30-3 to the Ospreys in the semi-finals of the EDF Energy Cup a fortnight ago and their stuttering season hangs on tomorrow's result. They have chosen to leave Cencus Johnston, the Samoa prop, on the bench when his ball-carrying could help towards the momentum they so badly lacked last month and if Wales do not have at least one representative in the last four - and do not discount the prospects in Toulouse of Cardiff Blues - it will be a huge surprise.

Luke McAlister inspired Sale Sharks to a 49-24 victory against Brive in last night’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final at Edgeley Park. The former All Black kicked 19 points after being handed a starting place at fly half with Charlie Hodgson among the replacements after the birth of his first child. Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe scored twice as Sale ran in six tries to set up a semi-final against Bath or Leeds Carnegie.