Eoin Reddan has a golden opportunity to stake his claim for the Ireland No9 jersey on Saturday but the London Wasps scrum-half insists his priority is the team's Heineken Cup ambitions rather than personal glory.

The 27-year-old is battling with Munster's Peter Stringer and Tomas O'Leary, plus Isaac Boss of Ulster, for the role and knows his rivals have the luxury of performing on home soil regularly as they look to impress new coach Declan Kidney.

But Reddan has a rare chance to state his case in Ireland when Wasps travel to the Royal Dublin Society Showgrounds to take on Leinster, the Magners League champions.

He will be under severe pressure to perform, not least because he showed his commitment to Wasps by rejecting an approach from Leinster in the summer. That's enough to put him under the spotlight in this match but Reddan says this, and the international issue, are secondary to recording a significant victory in Wasps' Heineken Cup bid.

"I am going back to my homeland and, yes, I will be judged," said Reddan, who has 12 caps. "This is an important stage to perform on, but the game is more important than any individual because so much is riding on this one match.

"It's huge for both teams in this tournament. I am not saying we would be out of things if we lost but it's a massive opportunity to push on and put the pressure on Leinster for the rest of the pool matches.

"I have never had a problem with Ireland in terms of playing my rugby in England because I believe that if I am playing well then I will be picked. I am very careful not to put up any barriers because you only need to lose your head once and say you are not being selected for this or that reason and then you are goner. You cannot worry about what you cannot control the only aim is to play as well as possible and let things develop. That's life."

Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan was biased towards home-based players but Kidney travelled to England last week to meet Reddan and other exiles to assure them they weren't out of his thoughts. The trip made a real impact on Reddan, who played under Kidney at Munster before joining Wasps in 2004.

"His visit also involved guys like Mike Ross (Quins), Geordan Murphy (Leicester) and Bob Casey (London Irish)," he said. "It was a big step for Declan to take and the fact it went well was probably secondary to the fact he made the effort to come and see us here. It was great.

"He believes in the squad he has put together and says we can become the best in the world. While we may be some way from that point at the moment, you have to believe you can push yourself to get there."

Ireland play New Zealand, Argentina and Canada next month and a Wasps victory over a side boasting talents such as Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll and Wallaby flanker Rocky Elsom would boost Reddan's prospects of selection. Wasps, with just one win in the Guinness Premiership this season, began their Heineken Cup campaign by beating Castres 25-11 while Leinster saw off Edinburgh 27-16.

"Leinster are an entirely different challenge because they are on fire at the moment and a great side," said Reddan. "The Castres game was a 'must win' and I couldn't wait for it to come along because I knew it would get every-one together. We are professionals and a proud bunch of guys and we are not happy with just raising our game for big ones like the Heineken Cup.

"That is something we are building towards after a shaky start and now the intensity is going to up again for Leinster."