Niall Morris will take a trip into the unknown if he keeps his shirt for tomorrow's eagerly-awaited East Midlands derby.
The in-form Irish winger is set to make his 19th start of the season for Leicester Tigers as they prepare to face old rivals Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership.
Morris has never taken the field in a first-team game at Franklin's Gardens, but he already knows how important a clash it is for everyone at the club.
"There is massive rivalry between Leicester and Northampton, and the first game I saw between the clubs was the home game last year, which saw two red cards in the opening 15 minutes," he said.
"When I first came here, Cockers (director of rugby Richard Cockerill) pulled me over to one side and told me that it was a very big game.
"I got a bit of a talking to. There's always an extra buzz when we are playing the neighbours from down the road.
"Few teams go to the Saints and get a result. I played there in the A League at the start of the season and we lost heavily.
"But this will be much more serious. I cannot wait for the game, and I hope I keep my shirt.
"I have spoken to a few of the lads and have watched the Saints games to see how they play.
"It will be a hostile crowd, like it was at Exeter (last weekend), and like it will be in Toulon (a week on Sunday).
"We need to eliminate that crowd as much as we can by trying to quieten them down and push our game on Northampton.
"Finishing in the top two is massive for us and, if we can keep winning these final four games, we will be guaranteed a top-two spot."
Dublin-born Morris, who is in his second year at Welford Road, has been an almost ever-present in the Tigers squad this season with 18 starts – a figure that only Anthony Allen (19) and Julian Salvi (20) have bettered.
"I have been happy to play so many games and get the nod a few times," said the 24-year-old.
"But I have not played much in the last few weeks because of the LV= Cup break, and that has been frustrating.
"With the weather the way it has been, even when you do play, you can just end up chasing kicks all day. But I love playing for Tigers and I would chase kicks all day if I had to."
