Tom Croft still remembers fondly his first Premiership appearance in a Leicester shirt and now he's encouraging future Tigers to come and sample the atmosphere at Welford Road.Croft, who has been capped 40 times by England and five times on two tours with the British & Irish Lions, first sampled rugby as a youngster at Newbury, before moving on to the Tigers Academy. His first passion was football but soon realised his giant frame was more suited to rugby and quickly made his mark. "I think people who have never been along to a Premiership rugby game before should give it a go, whether you know a lot about rugby or nothing at all – it’s a place you can bring your family, young or old and enjoy a very good day out," he said. "I started watching rugby late on, probably 10 or 11 years old – I grew up in Berkshire and my school was right next door to Newbury Rugby Club – the first game I went to see at Leicester was when I was in the academy – and I was hooked immediately. "Newbury was my first port of call for rugby. I was playing football for my local side but after having a taste of the game I loved it.” Croft was speaking as part of a new campaign from Premiership Rugby and title sponsors Aviva to welcome new supporters to Aviva Premiership Rugby this season. He is one of 12 club ambassadors who are backing the Aviva Premiership Rugby First Timers' campaign. As part of the campaign Aviva and the Premiership Rugby clubs have teamed up to give away almost 2,000 free tickets across every game in the first seven rounds of Aviva Premiership Rugby matches, from the start of the season right up to Christmas.  Despite growing up at Tigers and progressing through the age-groups and the academy, Croft still remembers feeling nervous when he first made his Premiership bow. "The first time I played for Leicester in the Premiership it was against Gloucester, I was very young and I was playing in front of a packed Welford Road," he added. "The chance to play for Leicester Tigers was amazing. I had come up through the academy and I was absolutely panicking. It was amazing, we won the game and it all went from there." Watch Croft talk about Aviva First Timers by clicking here. The Aviva Premiership Rugby First Timers programme will give away almost 2,000 free tickets across every game in the first seven rounds of Aviva Premiership Rugby matches, from the start of the season right up to Christmas.  Fans are encouraged to tell friends and family who have never been to a Leicester Tigers fixture before to visit www.premiershiprugby.com/avivafirsttimers now to sign up for their free tickets.