Wasps captain Joe Launchbury wants to learn from last season’s mistakes when his side travel to Dublin to kick off the 2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup against defending champions Leinster Rugby. Wasps head to the RDS Arena on Friday night to face the four-time European Cup winners and the Englishman knows only too well the strength of the Irish province on home turf. “It’s great that we get the chance to kick the tournament off on a Friday night against last year’s champions,” the 27-year-old said. “It’s going to be a really good test of where we are and how set we are to continue in this tournament, so it’s a really good start for us.” “In terms of the threats that they possess, I think it’s pretty clear from the way they played last year. “They’re a team that’s packed full of internationals, they play together on the international stage, then they come back and play in the same style for Leinster. “We’re under no illusions about the challenge we’ve got, but that’s the great thing about this tournament: we face them and Bath in back-to-back weekends, and we have Toulouse in back-to-back games around Christmas time, so it’s a fantastic way for us to kick off this tournament.” https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/1049302067725123584 Last season, Wasps finished just a point shy of qualifying for the quarter-finals and failed to progress from their pool – which according to the England international, shows how strong the Heineken Champions Cup is each year. “I think last year’s tournament told the story of our season - some really good patches in the group stage, some really good games and tight wins, then we kind of unravelled in those 30 minutes away from home at Harlequins,” added Launchbury. “We went from a pretty comfortable position to end up losing the game, and those points that we lost there were ultimately the points that didn’t get us out of the group. “It shows you that how one slip, how 20 minutes in a game off the pace can mean that your hopes of getting out of the group are over. It’s great to be back here again and to have another shot at this. “It’s certainly a good lesson for us - it shows how competitive this competition is.” https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/1047897893586096129 The 6ft 6in lock has made 37 appearances in European rugby and started in the semi-final of the Champions Cup against Saracens in the 2015/16 campaign before losing 24-17 to the eventual champions that year. Launchbury also put an emphasis on his side performing for the full duration of the match and knows the significance of a complete display in order to advance further into the competition. “When you come into Europe, it’s important that all facets of your team are ready and firing at the same time and playing well for longer than we have done, trying to play as close to 80 minutes as we can. “That’s the important thing in this competition.”