Leeds hopeful beating Bucharest Oaks will help them turn over new leaf in the league

Having lost all five Premiership games so far, securing just a solitary bonus point, it is not surprising that bottom-placed Leeds have named a strong side for the Amlin Challenge Cup excursion to Romania.

Coaching duo Andy Key and Neil Back will hope their struggling squad can gain a morale-boosting victory against Bucharest Oaks in order to kick-start their league form, while surely realising the ambition of a top-six spot is already out of reach.

This time last year the Yorkshiremen were in a similar rut, having earned an opening-day draw with Newcastle and nothing else, but the European break – when they followed up a loss in Bourgoin with a much-needed victory over Italians Parma – served great purpose.

Soon after, they delivered their first Premiership win, at Wasps, having already been desperately unlucky to fall at Saracens, and they were finally up and running.

Head coach Back, whose side edged a 10-6 victory in Bucharest last December, conceded: "The Amlin Challenge Cup gives us a chance to give some game-time to players who have been desperate to play in the first five rounds of this season.

"European competition does bring with it different kinds of challenges that can help freshen things up."

Hooker Phil Nilsen and openside Jacob Rowan are the only two players in the starting line-up this lunchtime who have not begun a game already this season.

Scotland Under-20 scrum-half Alex Black could make his debut off the bench along with centre Oliver Denton, the younger brother of second-row Tom. If he comes on, it will only be the second time a pair of brothers have played for Leeds, following in the footsteps of the Murphy siblings, Chris and Phil.

Back is confident forward Danny Paul, who came off injured against London Irish last week, will have recovered from rib damage in time for their next Premiership fixture against Sale at Headingley on October 22.

Rotherham Titans are in Championship action at struggling Plymouth today with South Yorkshire rivals Doncaster Knights, buoyed by their thrilling late triumph over Nottingham, facing a more difficult prospect on the road at London Welsh.

English clubs can showcase their Heineken Cup credentials this weekend, or serve notice they could be little more than bit-part players.

Since Wasps beat Toulouse in the 2004 final at Twickenham, French clubs have contested four of the subsequent six finals, two of which were all-French affairs and two others against Munster, which resulted in defeats for Biarritz and Toulouse.

After Leicester and Wasps went toe to toe at Twickenham three years ago, English clubs filled barely 25 per cent of the subsequent 42 quarter-final, semi-final or final places on offer.

It means the onus is on Wasps, Bath, Saracens, Leicester, London Irish and Northampton to spark an overdue English revival.