Shaun Edwards has eye on Irish power plays

Shaun Edwards has warned his table-topping London Wasps players they face the toughest challenge of their Guinness Premiership campaign to date against London Irish at Reading on Sunday.

Irish are in third place, just one point behind Wasps, and have scored nearly 100 points in their last two wins over Gloucester and Leeds, despite missing England full-back Delon Armitage, who is out with a shoulder injury.

Wasps have recaptured their attacking flair after last season's disappointing Premiership run that saw them finish seventh - one place off Heineken Cup qualification.

With ex-England captain Phil Vickery set to make his first appearance of the season, Wasps believe they have the physical power to match Irish's contingent of heavy-hitting Pacific Islanders.

Tongan No8 Chris Hala'ufia scored two tries for Irish against Leeds last weekend while the Samoan trio of centres Seilala Mapusua and Elvis Seveali'i and wing Sailosi Tagicakibau will test the Wasps defensive system to the limit.

Edwards said: "We use Irish as our bench mark and last season they collected 16 bonus points, which is an incredible record.

"Our tackling will have to be spot on because they have those big guys like Mapusua and Tagicakibau, who I consider to be the most underrated wing in the competition."