Murrayfield awaits Brian O'Driscoll and his Leinster team-mates next weekend and the Irish skipper has warned that Edinburgh will be very much up for the round two tie.

Effectively, Lynn Howells' hosts will be playing for their Heineken Cup lives when Leinster, the current Pool 2 leaders, pay them a visit on Sunday (kick-off 1pm).

The Scots secured a losing bonus point in their 19-17 defeat to Agen last Friday night, but are craving a win to keep their quarter-finals hopes alive.

O'Driscoll, whose side ran in four tries in a 37-20 beating of Gloucester, said: "Obviously Edinburgh were very unlucky to lose down there in Agen. By all accounts, it's a very tough place to go.

"So it'll be extra tough for us next weekend because Edinburgh will know that if they lose to us, their Heineken Cup campaign will be as good as over. I don't know too many teams that have lost their first two pool games in the Heineken Cup and gone on to qualify.

"This week, preparation wise, will be very important for us because we have to make sure we're in the right frame of mind to take them on and get our second win."

Leinster's flying start last weekend certainly saw some of their key men to the fore - winger Shane Horgan crossed for his 13th try in his last 16 Heineken Cup appearances to continue his deadly form in Europe, O'Driscoll's centre partner Gordon D'Arcy showed the benefits of a good pre-season with his 19th try in 39 Heineken Cup starts while Argentinian out-half Felipe Contepomi notched 22 points in another eye-catching display.

O'Driscoll added: "I thought Darce had a great game. I thought he was a little hard done by missing out on man-of-the-match but that's just one back looking out for another.

"He was excellent right from the off. I had a word with him before the game and said 'they're not going to put us down today' and he certainly took that on board. He ran some great lines, was so powerful and his defence was great. We made some blunders but we'll go from strength to strength.

"As for Felipe, well, he can just be awesome at times. It's just brilliant playing outside him because with him in the side, we're capable of scoring from everywhere. Typically he got another try and his goal-kicking was truly exceptional. People don't really understand how difficult it is out there.

"You have to be a quality goal kicker to do what he did against Gloucester."

...O'Driscoll offers encouragement to his cousin Cillian Willis, who stepped in at scrum half for only his second cap for Leinster...

O'Driscoll, who made his 41st appearance in the Heineken Cup last Saturday, also had a special mention for his own cousin, Cillian Willis who made his European debut for the province at the age of 21.

Willis stepped into the breach at number 9 - for only his second senior game - with both of Leinster's leading scrum halves Chris Whitaker (shoulder) and Guy Easterby (broken jaw) currently nursing injuries, and he did so in impressive fashion as the 22,530-strong Lansdowne crowd took to the youngster.

"Yeah, my cousin did very well," O'Driscoll admitted. "I didn't really say anything special to him before the game. I just told him to relax and enjoy the game.

"I know how tough he is. Myself and his two brothers used to push him around a bit when we were younger so I'm taking some of the plaudits for that! We toughened him up as a kid and he's benefiting from that now.

"He's got a rocket of a pass and he'll get better and better. He just needs more games at this level to improve his decision making. He hasn't played a lot of rugby but he did very well and he deserves all the credit he'll get."