London Irish will attempt to become the first club to knock askew the domestic crown of London Wasps when they take on the champions in Saturday's double-header at Twickenham, the opening day of the Guinness Premiership season. They will do so nursing a sense of grievance that, having come within a whisker of a place in the Heineken Cup final last season, they have not qualified for Europe's top competition this term.

“It really hurts that we're not in the Heineken Cup, but at least we know we can perform at that level,” Nick Kennedy, the London Irish lock who toured New Zealand with England in the summer, said. It was at Twickenham in April that the exiles lost by six points to Toulouse in the semi-finals and this weekend's return, followed immediately by Premiership matches against Leicester and Bath, will show whether lessons have been learnt.

Shane Geraghty, the England squad midfield player, may miss the match after jarring an ankle in last week's warm-up game against Munster, a ferocious affair that Toby Booth, the London Irish coach, hopes has left his team battle-hardened. Of the past five matches against Wasps in all competitions, Booth's team have lost four.

“They're coached by Shaun Edwards, who is a huge disciplinarian at the breakdown, they have the killer instinct and this is what you have to overcome against Wasps,” Booth said. “I'm sure they push the letter of the law, they're very streetwise and we need to be aware of that. Like them, we can be slow starters, but our broad philosophy hasn't changed. Defence is key for them, attack is our strength, so it's the old battle of good v evil.”

Booth's emphasis on the battle of the breakdown will be enhanced if Wasps field in their back row Tom Rees and James Haskell, both of whom did well for England during the summer but whose skills will be tested by the application of the experimental laws. Continuity will be a problem while players and officials come to terms with what is required at rucks.

One of the great concerns of the England coaching staff is that their players should become accustomed to the accuracy of English refereeing in the Premiership and then be exposed to a far looser approach if the November internationals against the Pacific Islands and the three TriNations powers are handled by southern-hemisphere officials. They have been unimpressed by the quality of the Tri-Nations tournament this summer, both playing and refereeing.

There is, though, a strong belief in England that no other country has the refereeing experience that is available to the Premiership. That said, the official for London Irish versus Wasps is Andrew Small, a New Zealander who has gone rapidly through the English system to become one of seven full-time referees.