Cardiff's Englishman-in-residence Liam Botham will put his international ambitions to one side today when Stradey Park stages the biggest club match Welsh rugby (3.0) has ever known today.
Botham, already earmarked by England coach Clive Woodward for this summer's two-Test South Africa tour, has a major domestic occasion ahead of him this weekend.
At stake between arch-rivals Cardiff and Llanelli is a prestigious Heineken Cup semi-final place, £180,000 prize money, plus a possible Millennium Stadium "home" tie in the tournament's penultimate knockout round.
And while Botham plays a straight bat to all enquiries about potential England honours, there is no holding back on his sense of excitement regarding a mouthwatering last-eight clash.
"The Heineken Cup is an awesome competition - it is such a step up," said Botham, the only uncapped player in Cardiff's star-studded side.
"No game is going to be easy at this stage, home or away, and anything can happen on these one-off occasions. Hopefully, we will produce a top performance."
Botham, whose cricketing legend father Ian follows his rugby progress with keen interest, has established himself as an important figure in the Cardiff starting line-up this term.
The 22-year-old's pace and power is a key part of Cardiff's attacking armoury, and Botham believes the Heineken Cup can take some credit for his development.
"Going to somewhere like Montferrand (Cardiff lost 46-13) was an awakening for me," he added.
"We've got to have the sort of competitions whereby you go away and play these games, knowing there are no pushovers.
"A British League would be a first step - hopefully, the way forward - and then perhaps a European League could develop from that.
"Everyone talks about southern hemisphere rugby being the greatest, but if the northern hemisphere got it right, then there is no reason why we cannot be up there with them."
Welsh rugby has the perfect chance to showcase its finest, today, an 11,000 sell-out crowd being joined by a nationwide television audience, and this classic east versus west confrontation should not disappoint.
"It has to be the biggest game in the history of Welsh club rugby," said Llanelli coach Gareth Jenkins, whose full-strength team features 12 internationals.
"The game is now professional, and what is at stake now, has never been known before. We are in the world of real benefit for whoever progresses."
Another capacity crowd is certain in Toulouse today, where 38,000 tickets have been sold - 9,000 to visitors Montferrand - for a repeat of last season's French Championship final.
"The excitement and calibre of this encounter has in itself ensured a sell-out occasion," said Toulouse spokesman Louis Pons.
Toulouse, bidding to reach their fourth European semi-final in five seasons, have beaten French Championship opponents Perpignan, Montauban and Dax during recent weeks, but Montferrand destroyed Begles-Bordeaux 60-18 last weekend, so will be no pushovers.
Tmorrow's quarter-final action switches to Northampton, where the high-flying Saints take on Wasps, their opponents in next month's Tetley's Bitter Cup Final (BBC 2, 2.40).
The semi-final draw - conducted by Scotland coach Ian McGeechan and European Rugby Cup chairman Jean-Pierre Lux - takes place immediately afterwards.
Teams drawn out first and third will have "home" advantage on a neutral venue in their own country.
For Northampton or Wasps, that is the Madejski Stadium, Reading, while other confirmed locations are the Millennium Stadium (Cardiff or Llanelli), Lansdowne Road, Dublin (Munster), Parc des Princes, Paris (Stade Francais), Bordeaux (Toulouse) and Lyon (Montferrand).
