Heaslip, who before jetting out to Australia helped Leinster to another RaboDirect PRO12 title, will be joined in the Lions starting line-up former clubmate Jonny Sexton, and he's only too aware of the welcome they will get.
"If I know Cheiks, he will definitely want to establish a foothold through his pack," Heaslip said. "He's always tried to get his players to be quite physical, especially around the breakdown, the way they carry and in defence. That whole contact zone is going to be a challenge.
"As a player who had Cheiks as a coach, I know all too well what he's like. I know how he's going to try and motivate his players and we've got to be prepared for that.
"We've got to give them the respect that they deserve but we've also got to focus on ourselves and tidy up a lot of our drills from Tuesday night and from the previous week. We've got to keep that momentum going.
"It will be a step up, but I haven't really seen a whole lot of them - with the way this tour has gone, you're trying to catch your own feet really."
63x46.png){kind=logo}