London Irish v Leicester

Come the end of the season London Irish might well look back upon this October period as the making or breaking of their aspirations. Saturday’s collision with their nemesis of last season, Leicester, completes a three-week spell that will have tried and tested them fully.

Victory in Dublin against the champions of Europe should have been the moment when Irish believed themselves good enough to compete with and beat the best. But then, out of the shadows came the Scarlets who earned a deserved victory at London Irish. The doubts have returned even before the shouts of Irish triumph died down.

Leicester are the perfect opponents for a team wishing to prove themselves. Last week’s loss will appear a blip (although a potentially costly one in the context of their pool) if they beat the Tigers, having failed to do so last season in the Premiership final at Twickenham and in the home league fixture.

The latter occasion produced one of the outstanding matches of the regular season. It was probably the game that suggested Leicester were the team any would-be champions would have to overcome. Aaron Mauger was returning from injury, Sam Vesty was enjoying the form of his life and the Tigers were playing some scintillating stuff after a hard, grinding winter of mediocrity.

The elevation of Richard Cockerill to head coach was the catalyst. He busily belied those who thought former players can only see the game through the prism of their former position. The Tigers were unleashed as Cockerill freed the backs to operate and demanded quicker ball and more dynamism from the forwards.

He is still doing just that and the promise for Saturday is rich. Much of the Premiership has been played as if in a morass but this is a game that can rise to the standards set by the Heineken Cup in the past fortnight. London Irish will be under the greater pressure to make it two wins from the past three games. Leicester, were they to lose, would fall further behind Irish, who are sitting second behind Saracens, but we know – and, more pertinently, the Tigers know – just how smoothly they can put together winning runs to turn domestic seasons around.

The Tigers have injury issues more substantive than Irish and a bonus-point defeat would not be the end of their world. Not that they will target anything but victory. It is a dangerous matter highlighting individuals because the Tigers have a habit of losing them to injury or illness hours before a game. It is also the wrong way to contemplate Leicester.

As a decimated back-line showed when they fought back from behind to salvage a vital three-point draw at home to the Ospreys on October 11, this club is built upon stronger foundations than individuals and egos. Leicester have mastered the amateur art of maintaining a squad that plays for the love of the club and team-mates. The heroics of players like Billy Twelvetrees, on his Heineken Cup debut, is a perfect example of Leicester at their best.

London Irish have been gathering a group of players and a coaching team with a similar philosophy but this hard-bitten ability to almost will matches your way takes years to master. If the Irish want to catch and overtake the Tigers in the long term, they need to master the salvaging of matches. Against the Scarlets that was lacking. Whether they haven’t yet got the elixir of success or simply mislaid it due to a case of overconfidence we shall discover on Saturday afternoon. This is a landmark match for London Irish this season.

It could also be a significant afternoon for several individuals whose main aim will be victory but will have secondary thoughts of autumn internationals rattling around in their heads. Nick Kennedy should be foremost among them. As he has been ridiculously relegated to the Saxons, it might be a chance or him to make a fool of Martin Johnson in the most positive possible manner. The Tigers have both Louis Deacon and Ben Kay in the full squad. At least one of them is sure to start. Kennedy will stalk the Tigers lineout. In the front row, Julian White could be on the verge of an England start. Injuries to Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan, not to mention youngsters such as Matt Mullan, have decimated England's front row. He will not do a great deal except work the scrums but, if he can do that with sufficient aggression against a good Irish scrum, he could be back in white in the very near future.

Let us save the best international sub-plot for last. Lewis Moody tangling with Steffon Armitage is the individual match-up of the day. Let us hope the interfering elite player contract, illness or injury does not come between this classic clash of the number sevens. Irish have not grouched about last week’s defeat but the resting of their open-side was a factor. The Scarlets were much better at the breakdown than I expected and, while they deserve credit, the absence of Armitage was a factor.