Munster and Leinster face English opposition

The feared poor Irish start to this season's Heineken Cup has already started - Ulster were humbled by English opposition last night in Ravenhill.

Today Munster and Leinster will hope to stop the rot and halt the slide of Irish rugby but they face two of the traditional English powerhouses.

Leinster welcome Leicester to the RDS for their Pool 6 clash at 1.30pm. Felipe Contepomi is back in the harness at number 10 for the first time since the World Cup.

It will be up to him to mastermind the downfall of his former Pumas coach Marcello Loffreda, who has just taken over at Leicester - the beaten finalists from last year.

At 5.30pm in Pool 5, Munster have the even tougher prospect of travelling away to face champions Wasps.