Michael Cheika: Leicester Tigers boss says Champions Cup quality will improve side

Leicester are also in pool one with with defending champions Toulouse, South African side Sharks, fellow Premiership side Exeter and Ireland’s Ulster.

They face Sharks, who beat Exeter 39-21 in their opening match, in their next on Saturday.

Cheika, who took Leinster to the European title in 2009, says whatever happens in the rest of the competition, the experience his side will get can only improve them.

“That’s Europe and those are the experiences our players need,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of top-end teams in our group and we need those experiences to make us better and make us into a top level team.

“We’ve got yards to go on that.”