If new Leicester Tigers coach Heyneke Meyer wants to become the first coach in world rugby to win the Super 14 and the Heineken Cup titles then he couldn't have asked for a tougher starting point in Europe than tackling the Ospreys.
The EDF Energy Cup holders - they beat the Tigers in the final at Twickenham earlier in the year to rob them of their crown - head to Welford Road on Sunday for the marquee match in Pool 3 and Meyer can't wait to see what the top tournament in the northern hemisphere has to offer.
"The Heineken Cup was one of the attractions for me coming to work in Europe," 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.
"It is huge challenge for any team. 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.
"I've been involved in the top competition in the southern hemisphere and I am looking forward to being involved in the top competition in the northern hemisphere. There are more teams involved from more countries in the Heineken Cup and I am looking forward to seeing different players and teams from different cultures.
"It's going to be an interesting challenge. There is no doubt the Heineken Cup is a top competition and it is going to grow in stature and get better and better because so many of the world's top players are involved.
"Even in places like South Africa the profile of the Heineken Cup is growing. I remember watching the Munster-Toulouse final at home. With all those supporters there it was a great spectacle - there is a great vibe about the Heineken Cup."
Although still only 40, Meyer has been coaching since leaving the University of Pretoria with a sports psychology degree. In 1998 he was coach to the Emerging Springboks, an assistant to the Springboks at the 1999 Rugby World Cup and then head coach of the Northern Bulls in the Currie Cup in 2000.
At the same time he became assistant coach to the Stormers in the then Super 12. He won the Vodacom Cup in 2001 and then led the re-named Blue Bulls into the first of their five successive Currie Cup finals in 2002.
He then signed off at the Blue Bulls with a Super 14 triumph in 2007 before losing out on the Springboks coaching post to Pieter de Villiers. That ultimately led him to Leicester as a replacement for former Pumas coach Marcello Loffreda.
"My long-term goal is to make Leicester the best club side in the world. We should be able to achieve that in my time here," said Meyer shortly after signing a three-year contract.
"When I left the Bulls after winning the Super 14 last year and failed to get the job of South Africa coach, I thought my time in rugby was over. I had been a coach since I was 20 and I got out of the game by taking charge of a sports nutrition company and turned down a number of offers from international and club sides.
"Then Leicester came in, a club which shares my vision and values, and here I am."
