RUGBY/European Cup: Recalls for Eric Miller and Girvan Dempsey, a late withdrawal from the team which won their Heineken European Cup opener away to Treviso, are the only two changes to the Leinster line-up for their crunch pool game against Bath at Lansdowne Road this Saturday.

With the competition for places amongst the 33-man Leinster squad probably never so intense, each selection announcement is certain to have its hard luck stories and this week Aidan McCullen and Gary Brown fall into that category.

You can't keep a good player such as Miller down and although McCullen had been one of Leinster's players of the season up until Saturday's joust in the Stadio Communale di Mongio, the return of the one-time Lion was not unexpected. Brown again performed creditably as a late replacement for Dempsey prior to kick-off for the second time on Saturday, but with Denis Hickie reverting to the wing Brown will lose his tag as the only Leinster player to have started every game thus far.

"There's a bit of give and take really when you're dealing with two good players," said Declan Kidney with regard to the change at number six. "The onus on Eric is to bring what Aidan has been doing for us plus the experience he brings to matches like this."

The Leinster coach admitted that each was a very tough call but regardless of the tweaking in personnel, more pressing will be the need for Leinster to collectively up their performance for what will undoubtedly be their toughest test of the season so far, especially against Bath's grunt-and-grind department up front and their ultra-sharp lineout.

Captain Reggie Corrigan admitted that they're expecting a huge battle up front. "There's always a danger though with all the talk about how big their pack are, and their strengths and everything else, that there might be a fear that would be a little bit over-stated at times. We have to respect them but also we have to think about how good a team we are. I know we haven't played to our ability but I know that will happen and this week is as good as any for that to start."

Unnervingly, Leinster have not located anything like top gear yet this season. In comparison to the more battle-hardened Bath team, it doesn't help that four of this starting line-up have only played four games this season, and another five have played even less than that, although Kidney was keen to give this vexed issue something of a curve ball.

For David Holwell, after just two games, this is a particularly sharp learning curve, but when asked if he thought that Holwell might be targeted by Mike Tindall, and whether he'd be up to it, Kidney, in classic style, retorted: "He might, and he is."

Hopefully, though, last week's first outing in Italy will have sharpened all their European senses. "Last week I said there wasn't a huge amount of difference," admitted Corrigan when comparing the European Cup to the Celtic League. "But I have to say that after 15 minutes of that match last week in Italy I was wrong. The pace last week suddenly went through the roof. I felt it was the first game of rugby I'd seen this week really, for intensity, pressure, and certainly for the speed and pace of the game. And this week it's going to go up even higher."

"That being said, I do feel we're pretty fresh as a group of players, and certainly we're very keen and excited about being back in Dublin this week for our first European Cup game here, and getting a chance to play one of the great English sides is also very exciting."

The game will also be notable for Shane Byrne joining an elite band of six players (Anthony Foley, Robin McBryde, Chris Wyatt, Victor Costello, Fabien Pelous and, last week, John Kelly) to have played 50 or more European Cup matches.

Kidney put this achievement into context when pointing out that there are now about 10 Tests in an average calendar year, and a maximum of nine in Europe, adding: "So to get 50 Heineken Cup caps is a credit to his professionalism, not just in the way he plays but in the way he looks after himself."

Byrne's counterpart, the Bath captain Jonathan Humphreys, looks set to return for this match after missing their 22-12 home victory over Bourgoin last Saturday with a shoulder strain. He is now fully fit and has resumed training, while Michael Lipman and Duncan Bell could also be recalled after both were rested for the Bourgoin game. Chris Malone - not the fastest or most naturally attacking full back in the game - will continue to deputise for Lee Best, who is to undergo an operation on a troublesome hernia early next week.

"This is a big game," admitted Bath coach John Connolly. "We were happy with how we played against Bourgoin, but we will have to step up a level for this one. Leinster are a quality side and have some outstanding backs and we are going to have to ensure that we don't give them the opportunity to find space."

Publicly, Kidney and the Leinster players are embracing the move to Lansdowne Road. "The oldest international stadium in the world, it's brilliant," is Kidney's line. But there's little doubt that because of the confined nature of Donnybrook, where the supporters are closer to the pitch, and because the move takes the game beyond the remit of hard core fans, Lansdowne Road has not generated the same atmosphere heretofore.

This Saturday the capacity will be restricted to 24,000 - the upper stands will be closed and bucket seats have been installed behind each goal - and almost 10,000 tickets have been sold. Perhaps the 5.15 kick-off and the presence of high-profile opposition will engender more noise and colour from the Leinster support, and much like the home team, the occasion is liable to put it up to them. There is huge interest in Bath, who are liable to travel noisily and in numbers. They have supplemented their allocation of 1,100 tickets, which was snapped up inside six hours.

LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy; D Hickie; D Holwell, B O'Meara; R Corrigan (Capt), S Byrne, E Byrne, M O'Kelly, L Cullen, E Miller, V Costello, S Jennings. Replacements: R Nebbett, G Hickie, B Gissing, A McCullen, G Easterby, F Contepomi, G Brown.

Tickets are still available from the usual outlets (Spar in Donnybrook and Vernon Avenue, Centra in Cornelscourt and the Elverys outlets in Dawson Street and Suffolk Street, and from www.leinsterrugby.ie.). There is unreserved seating in place for Saturday's game for the East Stand, North and South Terraces. Turnstiles open at 3.45 p.m.