Richard Wigglesworth says he and his Leicester Tigers squad are “excited” to be a part of the “big moments” ahead of Friday night’s Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final against Leinster Rugby.

Tigers fought their way into the next stages of this European knockout stages with a 10-point, 16-6 victory over Edinburgh Rugby at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Friday, to set up the meeting with four-time winners Leinster in Dublin.

Speaking about the Irish side, which Wigglesworth admits are the “envy” of clubs throughout the rugby world, he said: “Leinster are a world-class side, literally, with something like 30 Test capped players providing depth that is the envy of clubs all over the globe.”

“They are a team who move the ball brilliantly and that comes on the back of the incredible cohesion they have as players.

“This is a group of players that have spent almost their entire lives, let alone professional careers, playing together through the Irish system, from school to Leinster and then even on the international stage for Ireland, where they dominate that squad.

“We know the challenge that is ahead of us, we know the quality of side we will come up against and that excites us; we want to play the big games, be a part of the big moments together.”

Leicester have lost just once in this season’s European campaign, at home to Ospreys, while their quarter-final opponents are unbeaten in the competition and domestically this season, having not lost in any competition during their 2022/23 season.

Discussing the Leinster season, Wigglesworth added: “The season they have had has been without fault, having not lost in either Europe or the URC.”

“I think the only game they haven't come away with a win was a draw, which shows the dominance they have had.

“It's a big game on a big stage, where they have moved it to the biggest stadium in the country, and will be wanting to continue their impressive run in this European competition.”

The clubs met at the same point in last season’s competition, which Leinster won on their way to the final, and have enjoyed consistent success in the top-tier of European competition for a number of years.

Tigers, on the other hand, only returned to the Heineken Champions Cup in recent years after spending two years in the Challenge Cup.

Looking back on that time period, of which Wigglesworth first joined as a player before being appointed to his current role midway through this season, he said: “The acceleration of this group, to be where we are and in this position we are in, is a huge testament to the work that has been done by them.”

“This week two years ago, Leicester Tigers are playing in the Challenge Cup knockout stages and fighting to get out of the bottom half of the Premiership.

“Now, here we are, taking on a side who have been in six Champions Cup finals in the past decade and won four of them.

“Leinster are a European powerhouse and pride themselves on that, it's how they measure their seasons every year.”

Friday’s fixture will be the first meeting between the clubs in Dublin for more than a decade, and thirteenth overall since the first game played between Leicester and Leinster back in the competition’s debut season back in 1996.

"It's a big game on a big stage, where they have moved it to the biggest stadium in the country, and will be wanting to continue their impressive run in this European competition"

Only Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, from the current crop of Tigers players, have faced Leinster at the Aviva Stadium and Wigglesworth admits it adds another element of “unknown” for his players going into the quarter-final.

“Only two of our players have ever played at this ground for Tigers, which adds another layer of unknown for us as a group going over there next Friday night, and one of them, in Ben Youngs, is currently sidelined with injury,” he said.

“That's the nature of a season though, you get knocks and as the games come thick and fast it stretches your group.”

“It's not new for us, we have been here before with a long injury list and been tested in terms of depth every year; the Premiership pushes blokes to the extreme and then Europe comes and does the same, we just focus on those we have available and preparing that group the best we can.”

Asked about the growing injury list, the Head Coach was reluctant to delve any further into detail but did share that some players, including the two brought off in the win over Edinburgh with knocks, were “touch and go” for the trip to Dublin.

“I am not sure on some, they will be touch and go, and we will make assessments based on how the lads pulled up from a pretty physical fixture on Friday night,” Wigglesworth said.

“We will see what the injured guys look like during the week and how that recovery is going, but in terms of details on specific players, I am not going to go into that. Excuses aren't in the makeup of this club, so we are focused on what's ahead of us and not anything else.

“We have four days to get the boys ready for a big game and the lads, as they have every single day this season, will turn up ready to work hard every day to the best we can possibly be come Friday night in Dublin.”

The match will be played at the 51,000+ capacity Aviva Stadium on Friday night, which Wigglesworth is confident will still house plenty of supporters in green, red and white, despite the short turnaround for those hoping to make the trip across to Dublin from the East Midlands.

“I’d imagine it isn't the easiest trip for many to make, with less than a week to plan for, but what Leicester Tigers has in terms of support is never in question,” said Wigglesworth.

“While many might be unable to get trips sorted in less than a week, we know there will be thousands of our fans cheering us on - whether that be in Dublin or here in Leicester.

“Tigers fans turn up for us every week and we try to do the same. It won't be any different next week for fans or the players, that is for certain.”