The England international urged his team not to take their participation in the Heineken Champions Cup for granted, as just a couple of lacklustre performances could bring their European adventure to an abrupt end.

“It’s practically knockout rugby every week and that’s something that we’ll talk about, something that we need to understand - that you don’t get many chances of playing in European competitions and having chances to win European trophies as well,” he stated. “That’s something that definitely plays a part in our mindset.

“I’ll go back to you do need to stay in the moment, stay involved in the process, understanding what we’re about, what we’re trying to do, putting our game on them, especially the brand of rugby that we play. We can’t let ourselves go inside our shells at risk of things not going well.

Ludlam reported that both the Gallagher Premiership club’s fans and players are itching to get stuck into the European season, citing the unique aura the Heineken Champions Cup will bring to cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

“It’s a different atmosphere every week for European games,” he explained. “I think the thing that our fans are really excited about is how far we’ve come in comparison to some of these teams.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to properly see where we’re at in Europe, and it’s a great opportunity for us younger lads to be able to step up and show we are real contenders in the European competitions.”

Northampton face home and away encounters with Racing 92 and Ulster Rugby in Pool A – two sides who will be gunning for the latter stages of the competition - but Ludlam is defiant about his side’s chances of progressing.

“Chatting to people, they thought that was a bad draw for us, that we didn’t want that quality opposition, but I think that’s perfect,” he commented.

“That’s where you want to be; you want to be challenging yourself against the best. It’s probably, in other people’s eyes, an underdog situation, and that’s a perfect place to be.

“It’s a massive amount of excitement about one, going over there and playing in two unbelievable grounds, and two, really challenging ourselves against two real quality teams.

“So, we’ve just got to rip into that and understand we’re meant to be there. We’re there for a reason; we’ve got a genuine opportunity against these guys.”

Northampton Saints flanker Lewis Ludlam has called on his side to make the most of their opportunity to compete at the pinnacle of European club rugby - because their competition could be over in a heartbeat.