NONE of us can wait until Friday night's game against London Irish and hopefully we can give everybody an early Christmas present with a victory.

I took a nasty knock in the game against Albi on Saturday but I think I was quite lucky because it was the side of my leg and it just clipped the muscle.

It was very painful but we have been managing it well, icing it every couple of hours, and I will be 100 per cent fit for Friday's game.

Reflecting on the Albi match, it is difficult to explain what it is like going to a place like that.

I suppose the best comparison is some of the Welsh sides 15 to 20 years ago in that the fans are hostile and partisan and it is very hard to go down there and get results.

With that in mind, I think our side showed an awful lot of character. We played hard and we were very clinical and professional in the way we went about getting a result.

Together with the three previous wins, we are really pleased with the result and I think we are in pretty good shape going into a vital run of games over the festive period.

We have got some cohesion and a fair bit of momentum. I don't think our preparation could be any better.

But, despite our good run, we are not under any illusions about how difficult it is to win in the Premiership.

It is a big step-up in terms of pressure and intensity. We have got a really tough run of three games in 10 days and it is bound to be tough mentally as well as physically. The pressure in the Premiership is quite overbearing.

How we deal with that pressure will be every bit as important as the physical aspect.

We can't play the same 15 or the same 22 game on game in that sort of environment and it is at this sort of time that the strength of your squad is tested to the full.

Our squad is deeper than it has ever been and that should pay off over the next two or three weeks.

Also, our attitude will be crucial. A five per cent change in our mental approach could well be the difference between a heavy loss and a good win.

Irish have got players with a fair amount of attacking potential and they have got some old heads - the likes of Mike Catt - and they are great at finding a weakness if you are not on your game.

One of the big areas of improvement for us recently has been our defence and it will be that area which wins or loses us games.

We have now got to transfer our good defensive form to the Premiership.

After Christmas, we welcome Harlequins to Sixways for what should be another cracker.

A number of us, including myself, Kai Horstmann and Matt Powell, are ex-Quins players and it is always special when you come up against your former club.

But nobody is thinking about that just yet. It's important that we concentrate on each game as it comes at this time of the year and they don't come much bigger than Friday night.