Hodgson says Irish want to make up for last weekend's loss to Scarlets

London Irish's Paul Hodgson says he will enjoy Saturday's Heineken Cup clash with Leinster at Twickenham despite the pressure of the match.

The Exiles have to beat the reigning European champions to have a chance of reaching the quarter finals.

But Hodgson told BBC Berkshire: "These games are what it's all about. These are the ones you enjoy the most.

"It was a great game in Dublin - no tries but it was two teams going for it with Test Match intensity."

For Irish to win the pool they will have to beat Leinster, pick up a four-try bonus point and deny the visitors a losing bonus point.

October's first meeting between the two sides in pool six ended in a 12-9 victory for the Exiles.

"As long as there's a possibility, we'll give it all we can. We love playing against the best teams - and we consider Leinster one of them," said Hodgson.

"We know how difficult the challenge will be, but it'll be a huge spectacle at Twickenham and the boys want to put a lot of wrongs to right.

"Everyone's seen how they've been playing lately. They have quality players who are in fantastic form.

"They're a dangerous, dangerous side, so if we're not at our best, we'll fall short, there's no doubt about that.

"We know what the challenge holds for us and we have to go out and do it."

Hodgson said they will not be worrying about bonus points during the game.

"They're such a good team, there's no point in thinking like that. We have to compete and perform as best we can to give ourselves a chance," he said.

"We'll worry about that later on if we're ever in that situation. It's irrelevant for me."

London Irish versus Leinster kicks off at 1800 GMT on Saturday 23 January and is live on BBC Radio Berkshire.

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