Heineken Cup preview: Pool Two

It's here again! The Heineken Cup begins on Friday, with the clubs now battle-hard and ready after six weeks of domestic battery. Here are a few pointers on the forthcoming action in Pool Two.

It's here again! The Heineken Cup begins on Friday, with the clubs now battle-hard and ready after six weeks of domestic battery. Here are a few pointers on the forthcoming action in Pool Two.

Teams:

Edinburgh
Wasps
Leinster
Castres

Forecast: A year ago this was a two-horse race between Wasps and Leinster, but not so now. The only team of this quartet not stumbling at the wrong end of its domestic table is Leinster, whose recent Heineken Cup form has left a fair bit to be desired and whose Magners form is far from stellar. Wasps seem to have lost a lot of their intensity, and Edinburgh have so far failed to build upon the promise of last year. Castres' recent displays in the Top 14 have been very poor – as with Wasps, there is a lack of hunger, most palpable in last Friday's home defeat to Toulouse. By default therefore, Leinster are probably favourites, but they need to cure their awayday yips. Edinburgh and Wasps will scrap for second place, but there's unlikely to be a best runner-up from this pool. Castres will struggle.

Players to watch:

Edinburgh: The Scots boast no less than an IRB World Player of the Year nominee in their ranks in Mike Blair, whose performances under extreme pressure in a Scotland jersey have seen him into the frame not only for the ultimate gong, but also for a B&I Lions starting jersey next June. Ian McGeechan declared on Tuesday he'd be watching the Heineken Cup most closely, so Blair can make his first impression here and now.

Wasps: Everyone bangs on and on about Danny Cipriani ad nauseam, so we're not going to bother. Instead, you ought to keep eyes on Tom Rees, whose form has dipped far less than that of his team's. In the ELV game there is no position more important than openside, and Wasps have a diamond here.

Leinster: Leinster are full of big names, but there are a few players lining up to fill the shoes of the likes of D'Arcy, O'Driscoll, et al, who may burst onto the scene this tournament. Two in particular, Jonathan Sexton and Luke Fitzgerald, have been turning heads in the Magners League this season. Sexton is a fly-half, who is thriving in the absence of Isa Nacewa, while back three player Fitzgerald has been in sparkling try-scoring form.

Castres: In a team relatively devoid of big names, France captain and lock Lionel Nallet will once again be the man to stand up and be counted, and will lead by example a team that must knit tightly together if it is to stand a chance.

Squads:

Edinburgh: David Blair, Mike Blair, Ben Cairns, David Callam, Sean Crombie, Geoff Cross, Simon Cross, Nick De Luca, Andrew Easson, Ross Ford, Ben Gissing, Phil Godman, Ryan Grant, Craig Hamilton, Jim Hamilton, Allister Hogg, John Houston, Allan Jacobsen , Andrew Kelly, Gavin Kerr, Greig Laidlaw, Steve Lawrie, Alan MacDonald, Calum MacRae, Bruce McNeil, Ben Meyer, Matt Mustchin, Scott Newlands, Chris Paterson, Roland Reid, Ross Rennie, Mark Robertson, Hugo Southwell, Jim Thompson, Kyle Traynor, Andrew Turnbull, Steven Turnbull, Simon Webster.

Castres: Alexandre Bias, Mathieu Bonello, Paul Bonnefond, Romain Boscus, Thomas Bouquié, Matthieu Bourret, Rodrigo Capo Ortega, Rafael Carballo, Philip Christophers, Luc Ducalcon, Florian Faure, Yannick Forestier, Colin Gaston, Akvsenti Giorgadze, Carl Hoeft, Steve Kefu, Kirill Kulemin, Anthony Lagardere, Gideon Lensing, Steve Malonga, Lionel Mazars, Cameron McIntyre, Ludovic Michaux, Laloaoa Milford, Lionel Nallet, Darron Nell, Paul Perez, Yoann Rayssac, Daniel Saayman, Thomas Sanchou, Kevin Senio, Charles Sika, Fabio Staibano, Iosefa Tekori, Romain Terrain, Romain Teulet, Sébastien Tillous Borde, Leiataua Tomiki.

Leinster: Brian Blaney, Gary Brown, Felipe Contepomi, Leo Cullen, Gordon D'Arcy, Girvan Dempsey, Rocky Elsom, Luke Fitzgerald, John Fogarty, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Trevor Hogan, Shane Horgan, Bernard Jackman, Shane Jennings, Felix Jones, Cameron Jowitt, Chris Keane, Rob Kearney, Simon Keogh, Stephen Keogh, Stephen Knoop, Ollie Le Roux, Ronan McCormack, Fergus McFadden, Kevin McLaughlin, Isa Nacewa, Sean O'Brien, Paul O'Donohoe, Brian O'Driscoll, Malcolm O'Kelly, Eoin O'Malley, Johnny Sexton, Richie Sweeney, Devin Toner, CJ Van Der Linde, Chris Whitaker, Stan Wright.

Wasps: Pat Barnard, Henry Barrett, Charlie Beech , Serge Betsen, Richard Birkett, Chris Bishay, Danny Cipriani, Matt Corker, Hugo Ellis, Riki Flutey, Tom French, John Hart, James Haskell, Michael Holford, James Honeyben, Raphael Ibanez, Dan Leo, Josh Lewsey, Lachlan Mitchell, Tom Palmer, Tim Payne, Eoin Reddan, Tom Rees, Mark Robinson, Paul Sackey, Simon Shaw, Joseph Simpson, George Skivington, Jeremy Staunton, Mark van Gisbergen, Damien Varley, Phil Vickery, Tom Voyce, Dave Walder, Dom Waldouck, Joe Ward, Rob Webber, Joe Worsley.