Tigers boss wants more

Heyneke Meyer has had his first taste of Heineken Cup rugby - and he cannot wait for another helping when he takes his Leicester Tigers team to Italy to meet Benetton Treviso at Stadio Cimunale di Monigo on Saturday.

The Tigers dug deep to hang on and beat the Ospreys 12-6 at Welford Road and, although the match was not a try fest, the new man at the helm was more than pleased.

"It was an awesome experience and atmosphere and - although there were a few butterflies before the start - I am very happy," said the man who led the Blue Bulls to five successive Currie Cup finals and took the Super 14 title to South Africa in 2007.

"From my point of view it is great to be involved in what is clearly a very tough and physical competition, but what is important is that you concentrate on every single game and give your opponents respect and that is what we will be doing before playing Treviso at the weekend.

"You have to get points from every single game and it is not about getting bonus points but more about winning every single game.

"The Heineken Cup was one of the attractions for me coming to work in Europe. It is a huge challenge for any team as it's a round-robin competition and a knock-out all in one. That makes it a really tough competition to win and you need to be 100 per cent in every game.

"Against the Ospreys we played very well in first half but should have scored more tries but we didn't and that just shows the quality of this competition - if you don't take your chances you are always under pressure.

"There is certainly a greater intensity in the Heineken Cup and the players really had to lift their standards because the Ospreys are a very good side. It was a much quicker game than the ones earlier this season and there was much more rugby so it is a great competition.

"There is no doubt the Heineken Cup is going to grow in stature and get better and better because so many of the world's top players are involved."