WE welcome London Irish to Sixways on Saturday for what promises to be a blockbusting encounter.

The last time we had a Premiership team at home it was Wasps and what a night that was for everybody involved at Worcester.

The hope here is that we can recreate that atmosphere in this weekend's Powergen Cup tie.

We're all too aware that we've already played the Irish once this season and that match, coming after our European Challenge Cup tie, was on the surface one to forget. Essentially, however, it's one that is exceptionally useful to remember. We were very poor at the Madejski Stadium and, certainly, we believe we've learnt the lessons from that match.

Validity

The Powergen Cup is a major tournament for us this season and it's one that everyone's excited about. I think we've made it pretty clear that we'd rather not be in the European Shield but we're delighted to come into this cup at the sixth round stage.

I remember discussing the validity of the cup last season when we were going for the National One title. It wasn't a priority for us then because we only had one goal but, this season, we'd love to progress.

The thought of getting through to the final in front of a packed house at Twickenham is a wonderful one but you've also got the added incentive that there is a place in the Heineken Cup up for grabs if you do win the tournament.

It's a massive game for us for all sorts of reasons. We want to get back to domestic duty and continue the momentum that was built up with our last two victories over Northampton and Wasps.

Our home record is also very precious to us and there's the fact that we welcome London Irish to Worcester next month for a Premiership encounter. The last thing we want is to give them a taste of victory at Sixways before that clash.

There haven't been too many selection issues for us this week but we welcome back James Brown at fly-half after his neck injury. James has been itching to get back and it's a big game for him against his former club.

Being the professional he is, however, James will prepare for this game like any other. We're just pleased to have him back after his problems and I think he did well in the 40-minute run-out against Rovigo on Saturday.

Our victory over the Italians, which saw us progress to the quarter-finals, threw up a number of interesting selection issues. Uche Oduoza scored a hat-trick of tries on his first team debut and he almost forced his way into the squad for Saturday. Uche has massive potential and we saw a glimpse of that against Rovigo. Let's be clear, we didn't just disregard him from selection just because the Euro games have finished. We talked at length about Uche but, ultimately, we went with Giscard Pieters and Daren O'Leary with Paul Sampson on the bench.

Certainly there are a number of players who have a chance to shine against the Irish. Brad MacLeod-Henderson keeps hold of the number eight shirt because of Pat Sanderson's suspension and Drew Hickey moves to openside. With Siaosi Vaili in at blindside, it's a new and intriguing combination.

When the Irish come to town, it's always an occasion and Saturday should be some game for supporters. We want to see our fans help us maintain this run we're on and make it fortress Sixways again.

We saw it against Wasps so let's pack the place out and raise the roof!