Every man in the Leicester Tigers squad has to be on his mettle this season.
That was evident in the 36-17 win over Newcastle Falcons last week as director of rugby Richard Cockerill was able to send on replacements without in any way weakening the 15 on the pitch.
Full-back Niall Morris said the players are well aware of the need to stay on their toes, whether it is a training session or match action that they are involved in.
The 26-year-old started at full-back against Newcastle and, like the rest of his team-mates, put in a solid showing, particularly for the first game of the season.
"The club has added strength and depth this season," he said. "All the players are quite evenly matched so it is a great challenge for all the guys.
"If you slip up you know that there is always somebody there who will be looking for an opportunity to come in and get a starting place."
The only time last weekend that Tigers looked shaky was when Newcastle forced their way back into the game with a try right at the start of the second half.
The way that Leicester responded was encouraging, however, and Niki Goneva's hat-trick showed that they possess a real cutting edge.
"After they scored we didn't dwell on what had happened," said Morris.
"We didn't make any points about errors made, it was just a case of what we were going to do to get the ball back and concentrating on what we had spoken about at half-time.
"Apart from the interception, Niki's tries were all created for him. First Manu Tuilagi made a great run, then Freddie Burns picked a really nice line and off-loaded just short of the line."
Morris likes what he has seen already from Burns, although there was never any doubt about the ability the former Gloucester man possesses.
He holds the No.10 jersey at the moment but, as Morris says, he will know better than anybody that he has to be at his best to retain it.
"Freddie has done really well in the last couple of weeks," said Morris.
"He did well in the pre-season games against Edinburgh and Cardiff and again against Newcastle.
"There is great competition between him and Owen Williams to get that starting jersey. That can only be good for the squad."
Tigers travel to Exeter tomorrow afternoon to face an in-form Chiefs side who hammered London Welsh in their first game of the campaign.
"They were excellent," said Morris. "Scoring 50 points in the Premiership is difficult to do.
"Sandy Park is quite a big pitch and Exeter throw it around a bit. We have to be ready for that and do our best to nullify their threats."
