We're flying off to Ireland on Friday morning to face Ulster in the Heineken Cup, and there is no shortage of motivation to get a win in Belfast.
Victory could see us through to the knockout stages as group winners and that is our aim. We beat Ulster pretty convincingly at the Stoop earlier this season and although they can't qualify, there's no doubt they are going to be up for it.
I've never played at Ravenhill before - but flanker Neil McMillan joined Quins from Ulster last summer. He's told us one thing is for sure - Irish teams hate losing to English teams.
They'll be out for revenge and they'll want to give their fans something to shout about. Harlequins haven't been in great form domestically but we want to nail down this win and give ourselves a bit of breathing space for the Scarlets game the following week. So it's a big weekend for us.
Isaac Boss is a good little player for them - he's a very dynamic and snappy scrum-half, a bit similar to myself and if he starts he'll keep me busy on Saturday.
Looking to England, I was chuffed to see Ben Foden called up by Martin Johnson for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations.
People might not believe me in the sense he's competiton for the scrum-half jersey - but we've played sevens together and for England Under-21s and we get on really well. We've basically grown up playing rugby together at different levels.
There is some great competition all over the England squad and of course Harry Ellis will be knocking on the door again for the No 9 berth. If anything, it will push me to get better as a scrum-half.
It's always good to have that friendly rivalry. With Harry and "Fodes", we'll all be helping each other and will be happy for whoever gets picked.
Mike Tindall's recall will be good for the team in that he's got so much experience. That can only help some of us young lads and he's been in fantastic form for Gloucester this year. He's proved a point that he's been unlucky to be left out of past England squads.
No-one could have been more disappointed than us at how we fared in the Autumn internationals - but the spirit is still great in the camp and the losses in the Autumn have only given us an extra edge to do well in the 6 Nations.
I think everyone involved with England can't wait to play that first game against Italy - but for me the priority is facing Ulster on Saturday. Hopefully we'll be safely qualified by next week - but we need to produce the goods at Ravenhill first.
Cheers, DC
