Key player: Chris Paterson (wing/fullback). If he is on form and kicking well, the team normally wins.

Young star: Rob Dewey (centre/wing) burst on to the scene last season but got injured in the first Heineken cup game. Ben Cairns has also been playing well this season.

Expectations: If Edinburgh play to their potential they should qualify and after that anything is possible. We have already beaten the current champions Munster away from home!

Coach: Edinburgh's coach is Lynn Howells. He's not been in the job long, but the signs look good so far.

Atmosphere: For Heineken match days there is always a bit of spice to the atmosphere and this season the crowds are bigger and louder than ever.

AOB: Most Edinburgh games now have a theme. For the recent derby game against Glasgow it was the battle of the Bravehearts and for the upcoming Heineken cup game the theme is Monster Mash for Halloween.

Key player: Andy Hazell - gets his head in the ruck and wins a lot of ball, makes a huge amount of tackles and is always in at the death of a backs try in support.

Young star: Spoilt for choice, but Anthony Allen. Opposition defences already fear him enough to stand back.

Expectations: Fight it out at the top of our group with Leinster - the Dublin away game will be crucial. If we beat Leinster, the sky's the limit. But have our youngsters got a big game mentality?

Coach: Dean Ryan has stepped out from behind Nigel Melville to show a rugby brain to go with the never-say-die attitude he displayed as a player. He's the spiritual successor to Dean Richards

Match day: Shed Heaven. Europe's noisiest stand still puts fear into the opposition - they much prefer to play on the other side of the pitch.

AOB: What's the betting that their young back line, now including powerhouse wing Karl Pryce, could be England's line-up at the 2011 World Cup?

Key player: Leinster have arguably the finest back line in the club game. D'Arcy, Hickie, Contepomi and Horgan are all game winners, but in the big games Brian O'Driscoll can be the decisive player both in attack and defence. He has also matured into an excellent captain (for both province and country) who leads by example for the full 80 minutes.

Young star: Jamie Heaslip is easily the most important young player in the Leinster ranks. His defence and mobility are excellent and he also provides an invaluable link between the pack and the backs. He excelled in his first full season last year and has continued his excellent form into the new season

Expectations: Winners. I believe this team is good enough to win - and more importantly they believe it too. Additions to the pack such as Keogh, Finnegan and Hogan are already reaping rewards and no team will want to face them. On form they will beat anyone.

Coach: Michael Cheika came in to Leinster from Australia in the summer of 2005 with his assistant David Knox. Between them they have shown their innovative, exciting brand of rugby can produce results.

Match day: A normal match day usually fails to have the atmosphere that you would expect for the brand of rugby being played on the pitch. However, as more people become fans and as the players continue to perform on the pitch the atmosphere inside the ground is steadily improving and high profile games have confirmed that the fans are finding their voice.

AOB: Irish teams have often suffered when tagged as favourites. But Munster's victory in the Heineken Cup last year has put an end to that and Irish teams should now be more comfortable with the possibility of winning a big tournament.

Key player: Caucaunibuca is one of the world's great wingers. He's very fast, immensely strong and has a deceptive change of pace. Given room he is lethal and it's rare to see him brought down by just one tackler. He hadn't played or trained seriously since last May, got typhoid in June, and had been in France just six days when he played against Edinburgh Gunners last weekend. He was man of the match!

Young star: Fabrice Culine. There aren't a lot of young players in the current Agen team, though there are several very good ones on the fringes. Culine is a youth programme product who entered the team at number seven last year. He is rumoured to have had an argument with coach Didier Faugeron in training during the pre-season and wasn't in the squad for some early games. But he's exceptional - powerful, good positional sense, fast, a fine tackler, very safe hands in the lineout and has immense confidence.

Expectations: Modest, frankly. The problem is that we travel very badly. Agen are close to unbeatable at home, but can go down to anyone away.

Coach: Didier Faugeron and Lo�c Van der Linden are Agen's new coaches. It's early days, but there are signs that the team - particularly the pack - are becoming more disciplined and giving away fewer silly penalties. If they can just get the team to play well away anything is possible.

Match day: Stade Armandie has a marvellous atmosphere. The crowd isn't the noisiest, but they are very friendly (around a third of the crowd are usually women and children) and welcoming to opposing supporters. There are several bars and the chips are excellent!

AOB: Agen have more overseas players than any of the other top division clubs in France, but they seem amazingly well integrated.