As he celebrates reaching his 50-game milestone in European competition, Chris Paterson still treasures the memory of helping his club to conquer London Wasps on their first competitive visit to Edinburgh, effectively eliminating the English side from that year's tournament at the same time. It was part of a pattern; English clubs have always struggled at Scotland's rugby headquarters.

That was three years ago, but the former national captain, who will mark tomorrow night's game with a presentation to commemorate becoming the first Scottish player to reach 50 games in the Heineken Cup, still feels Edinburgh have a lot to prove and have the potential to go a long way in the competition despite losing their opening game at home to Leinster.

“It was a great team effort to get the victory that day,” he recalls. “The only way it matters now is that it means that we know we can do it. Our team has changed a lot since then, as have Wasps, so there is not a lot to take from it in playing terms. What Wasps do have is a big-match mentality, an ability to turn it on in big games. They have so many international players, they can find that extra gear.

“This is hugely important for both teams. We have both won one, lost one and it would be almost impossible to qualify for the knockout stage with two defeats. We are not as mature a side at winning titles as Wasps are so we cannot afford to rely on that mentality of turning it on for the big games, we have to perform at that level all the time.”

Neither is anybody in the Edinburgh camp paying any attention to the English club's poor start to the season - they are notoriously slow starters and fast finishers - or their win over the same club in the preseason friendly. They know that Wasps always focus on the Heineken Cup and will be eyeballs out to get a result this time round.

The Edinburgh side shows only one change from the one that defeated the Ospreys in the Magners League last weekend, with Jim Hamilton, the Scotland lock who was rested last week returning to the side at the expense of Ben Gissing, who drops out of the 22 altogether. That means another run out for the experimental back row, with both specialist opensides, Ross Rennie and Alan MacDonald getting a starting spot alongside Allister Hogg in the back row.

Despite the vote of confidence from their coach, the players have a stark warning ringing in their ears.

Andy Robinson warned after last week's victory that if they played against Wasps as they did in the second half against the Ospreys, they would get taken apart, and he reiterated the message yesterday. “The key is taking the game to Wasps,” he said. “If we sit back and wait to see what they do, then we will be in trouble.

“One aspect that I was delighted with last week is that both the tries were converted, so when the Ospreys started to come back, instead of being a real dogfight, we still had a cushion.”

Which brings the discussion back to Paterson. He is not only playing the best running rugby of his career now that Robinson and Frank Hadden have agreed to settle him down at full back, but as the 18 consecutive successful kicks in the Magners League in a streak running back to early September shows, he has lost none of his accuracy with the boot.

After reaching the 50-game Heineken Cup landmark in Castres in October, the commemorative presentation was held back for the home game, giving the Murrayfield faithful the chance to show their appreciation.

Edinburgh: C Paterson; M Robertson, B Cairns, N De Luca, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, J Hamilton, A MacDonald, R Rennie, A Hogg. Replacements: A Kelly, G Kerr, M Mustchin, S Newlands, G Laidlaw, D Blair, H Southwell.