Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam has compared his side’s upcoming Champions Cup ties to “Test matches”.

The Bears begin their European campaign against United Rugby Championship leaders Leinster this Sunday before visiting 2022 and 2023 European champions La Rochelle the following weekend.

The opening two rounds of the competition comes after Lam’s side thrashed Harlequins 48-24 in an impressive display at the Stoop on Friday.

“For us, it’s like we’ve got to play two Test matches now,” Lam told BBC Radio Bristol.

“We’ve got to play Ireland, we’ve got to play France and that’s something we can all be excited about but we’ve got to get the work done.

“What we do now is just about the work we put in and we’ll continue to do that.”

Bears currently sit second in the Premiership table on 29 points after seven games with leaders Bath only bettering their West Country rivals on points difference.