Leicester Tigers will have a score to settle with the Ospreys when the two sides clash in the opening round of Heineken Cup matches on Sunday having lost to them in the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup in their last competitive outing.
But Tigers fans should have no worries about a Welsh team visiting Welford Road in the Heineken Cup. Eight have arrived in the past and all eight have been sent home with their tails between their legs. And when you add in two victorious semi-finals over the Scarlets at English venues, Leicester's 'home' record in Europe against Welsh opposition reads Played 10 Won 10.
Their overall record against Welsh opposition reads Played 16 Won 13, Drew 1, Lost 2. The two defeats came at Pontypridd (11-18) and Llanelli (12-24), while the draw was at Neath (16-16).
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 Anglo-Welsh 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."
HEINEKEN CUP 2008/09 (All kick-offs LOCAL times)
ROUND 1
FRIDAY OCTOBER 10, 2008
Pool 1 Munster v Montauban 20.00 Wayne Barnes (E) Sky Sports / RTE* / Sport+***
Pool 3 Perpignan v Benetton Treviso 21.00 James Jones (W) Canal+ Sport / Sky Italia
SATURDAY OCTOBER 11, 2008
Pool 1 ASM Clermont Auvergne v Sale Sharks 14.35 Alan Lewis (I) Canal+ / Sky Sports**
Pool 2 Edinburgh v Leinster 13.35 Rob Debney (E) Sky Sports / RTE* / Sky Italia
Pool 4 Scarlets v Harlequins 15.30 Christophe Berdos (F) S4C* / Sky Sports**
Pool 4 Ulster Rugby v Stade Français Paris 15.30 Nigel Owens (W) Sky Sports / France 2
Pool 5 Newport Gwent Dragons v Glasgow Warriors 14.30 Romain Poite (F)
Pool 6 Gloucester Rugby v Biarritz Olympique 17.30 Peter Allan (S) Sky Sports / Canal+ Sport
Pool 6 Rugby Calvisano v Cardiff Blues 14.35 Jerome Garces (F) Sky Italia / Sky Sports**
SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2008
Pool 2 London Wasps v Castres Olympique 15.00 Carlo Damasco (It)
Pool 3 Leicester Tigers v Ospreys 13.00 Alain Rolland (I) Sky Sports / Sport+
Pool 5 Toulouse v Bath Rugby 16.00 George Clancy (I) France 2 / Sky Sports / Sky Italia
* Delayed highlights ** Red button *** Delayed