This follows the Treviso outfit becoming the first Italian team to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition through the PRO14, after reaching the quarter-finals in that tournament last season.

“We’re very excited,” he said. “It’s a big stage and it’s the first time an Italian team has qualified on merit since we joined the PRO14, so we feel the responsibility to be as good as we can be.

“We are also very proud and confident, because when you qualify on merit, it means you’re good enough to compete against the best teams and the best coaches in the world.

“We’re not expecting easy games, so we’ve got to make sure we put the hard work in week in, week out, and we prepare well. Then I’m sure our players will play the best team matches they can.”

Benetton will certainly not get any easy games, having been paired with four-time winners Leinster Rugby, Lyon and 2000 winners Northampton Saints in Pool 1.

But the former Italy lock, who made a total of 63 European appearances for five teams before retiring in 2016, just wants to make sure there is no ‘second season syndrome’ from Benetton.

“We’re not expecting to be as good just because we’ve been there last season. We’ve got to make sure we put the hard work in,” he stressed.

“We’re still developing our system, our players, the way we train - we change that a lot to keep the players motivated and involved. That’s part of the process to keep evolving and keep getting better.

“It’s not an easy challenge, because, in the past, we’ve seen a lot of teams reaching the top and then not performing quite so well in the season afterwards.

“So, we are aware of that and we know the hard work we’ve been putting in during the weeks and the work ethic we’re showing are going to pay off at the end of the competition, whether that’s the Champions Cup or the PRO14.”

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No Italian team have ever qualified for the knockout stages of the European Cup, but Benetton Rugby forwards coach Marco Bortolami says the PRO14 team “feel the responsibility” to show their best side in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup.