In his words it is unique, even if the scrum-half’s Australian head coach, Matt O’Connor, joked the Irish do not have “a monopoly of hate” when it comes to the English during his press conference on Tuesday.

“I think whether you are playing Ulster or any of us English clubs playing against an Irish province, there is always that element of that Irish passion that they bring,” says Youngs.

“It is weird because there is something unique about it. There is something about how you know it is coming, and even when you know it is coming, it is hard to deal with when it does happen.

“You know at the weekend if the first penalty at the scrum goes to them, everyone is on their feet and then it oozes out of them and they grow another leg.

"They get louder, the crowd gets behind them, they get more physical, they get more robust in what they are doing and it is hard to manage. You are sort of thinking it will be a wave of red.”

That was certainly the case last year as Leicester were pulverised by Munster in what was then their worst ever defeat in Europe.

Youngs admits now he cannot remember much about the day, which ended with Tigers having shipped 38 points without registering a score. Looking back now, Youngs believes he and his team-mates failed to deal with the emotion of the occasion.

The passing of Munster head coach Anthony Foley meant that every European match at Thomond Park last season had an atmosphere more charged and powerful than any before it.

“They were in a very emotional and passionate state,” he recalls. “We weren’t able to deal with them, it’s as simple as that. We didn’t throw anything at them that threatened and we simply couldn’t handle what they threw at us.

"You look back now and you think, blimey, to be fair you probably didn’t really have a chance at all because of where they were emotionally.”

While last season may have been a huge disappointment there is a belief in the Leicester camp that this year will be different.

All of the Tigers’ European trips were nightmares last season as they conceded 114 points in just three games. To make matter worse, they only scored 16 in return.

It was a problem that new head coach O’Connor addressed during pre-season and Youngs is of the opinion now that the entire club is in a different place.

Last season Leicester had to cope with a raft of management changes. First director of rugby Richard Cockerill was sacked in January and two months later head coach Aaron Mauger was gone too.

O’Connor has since steadied the ship, while the signings of England stars George Ford and Jonny May have added a new cutting edge to the team.

“Everything is settled. In that respect, we have got no distractions. We are able to just crack on as players, which is good,” says Youngs.

“ I think with Jonny, his ability out wide and his pace is certainly an attribute that can be hard to deal with.

"I think you look at Telusa [Veainu] when he is given space and time is a very deadly runner, and George naturally just pulling the strings is a huge part of what we do. I certainly feel we have got more firepower than we had previously.”

Youngs’ opposite man tonight will be Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray. The pair know each other well having played each other several times for club and country over the past few years.

Last season it was Murray who came out on top as he claimed victories over Youngs with both Ireland and Munster.

So, is Youngs hungry to do battle with Murray once again?

“Definitely because we know he is a quality operator,” he says.

“Conor is a very good player with a great kicking game. He will marshall them very, very well.

“I think Conor is great player and I want to play against him.

“The fact that you get to have a good two-week tussle with one of the best nines in Europe is very exciting.”