Noel Reid says he now has a better understanding of the magnitude of an East Midlands Derby after playing his first in the Premiership Rugby Cup clash with Northampton Saints in Round 4 of this season's competition.
Speaking to LTTV after the match, Reid said: "I am just getting to realise how much it means to people over here, the derby."
The new Tigers recruit added that the intense fixture showed that small margins can decide a game and, if you're not up the standard, you will finish on the wrong side of the result.
"It showed today that if you are not quite at the level, you are going to get beaten," he said.
"It was disappointing ... obviously it was a good experience to play in it, but disappointing all round not to get the result."
Reid also told LTTV that it was those small errors at crucial moments that sealed the deal for Tigers in front of more than 16,000 fans at home.
"I think the errors we made were what brought them back in to the game, which is disappointing," said Reid.
"We were in control but a couple of errors just brought them back in to the game ... at this level that's all it takes."
Looking ahead to the start of the new Premiership season, Reid said: "We have got a few days to rectify them and a big week next week with the start of the League ... we have got to learn from it on Monday and kick on from there."
The disappointment had a silver lining from Reid's point of view, as a sign of how the standards of the Leicester squad have been raised throughout a gruelling summer and sweeping changes at Tigers HQ.
"It shows where our standard is at the moment, that that kind of loss hurts so much ... we know we should have won that game, it was in our control," he said.
"That shows where we have come over the pre-season ... it shows what standard we are at now."
Tigers travel to Worcester for the first Premiership game of the 2019/20 campaign next weekend and Reid is confident all the work that can be done will be done in a bid to start the season in the right way.
"Next week is a big game, obviously, and we will do everything we can to get the win and start the League well," said the 29-year-old.
The Irish international, who joined Tigers over the summer from Leinster, crossed for his first try in the defeat and celebrated it passionately with the Leicester faithful after what he admits had been a "frustrating" outing.
"I knew I had made a couple of mistakes throughout the game and it was a frustrating game for me," Reid said.
"It was great to get over for the first try in front of the [Tigers] crowd and, yeah, emotion got the better of me a small bit."
However, the passion he and the crowd showed is something he hopes will continue to grow throughout the upcoming season and work together to drive the side forward.
"I love playing here at Welford [Road] and if we can build that energy with the crowd it will help us going forward," added Reid.
"We coughed up the ball too easy and, at this level as I said, you just get punished."
Watch the full interview with Noel Reid on LTTV above.
