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And Thomas Waldrom, the New Zealander who played in the back row for the Hurricanes and the Crusaders and who represented New Zealand Maori in the Churchill Cup before joining the Tigers this season, already appreciates the special place the Heineken Cup has in Leicester hearts.
"European rugby is massive to Leicester," said Waldrom, who has followed in the footsteps of fellow Kiwis Aaron Mauger, Scott Hamilton and Daryl Gibson in playing at Welford Road.
"As to the difference between the Heineken Cup and the Super 14 the Heineken Cup is a lot different and a lot more intense - the first half against the Scarlets last weekend was really quick and I am really enjoying my football at the moment.
"Hopefully we can get five points on Sunday and build our case to move on but while it is tight in our group that is what it's all about.
"We just have to make sure we get out of the Pool stages and keep building, we know we can go to places and take victories, it's not just at Welford Road where we can play."
The Tigers finally won 34-29 out in Italy in Round 1 after a real battle and the Italians will be out to make it another real contest.
"The return match against them will be different at Welford Road," said Waldrom. "The ground is a fortress for us and our crowd is definitely special - hopefully we can get 24,000 there to cheer us on.
"We pride ourselves on our pack and we work hard week in week out to iron out the little things. We had some dominance up front against the Scarlets which was pleasing as we just want to go forward.
"We knew that they were going to come out firing and we knew we had to dig deep and do the little things right.
"In the first half with the wind against us we had a couple of turnovers and they kicked it long and we knew we were going to be in for a long day.
"But in the second half with the wind behind us we had to keep it tight and get the result we were after. We knew they can play, they did the same at Welford Road, and we knew we had to stop them playing. With the wind we had to play sensibly and in the right areas.
"For the try I saw Ben (Youngs) out of the corner of my eye, gave him a flick and with his pace it was good to look up and see him scoring in the corner."
And it was word of mouth that persuaded Waldrom to leave his home country and link up with the current Premiership leaders.
"While the results and trophy cabinet speak for themselves, everyone I spoke to could not speak highly enough about the structures, coaching and facilities in Leicester," he said.
"Knowing that people I trust viewed the club in that light made my decision so much easier."
