The 29-year-old joined Quins from the South African Lions outfit in 2019 and was delighted to make his debut in the competition for the Gallagher Premiership champions against Bath Rugby in November that year.

“I think in South Africa it’s a competition [that] a lot of people watch,” he said. “Obviously, it’s that big, where all the best clubs in Europe are playing against each other.

“I think a lot of times, as South Africans, you want to play in it [and] you want to be a part of it.”

Lewies is keen for Quins to transfer their exciting brand of attacking rugby to the Heineken Champions Cup this season, and believes the likes of talented England fly-half Marcus Smith and Italy international Tommaso Allan will thrive in the tournament.

“I think that’s in our DNA,” he added. “That’s the way we want to play, but we’ve also gone a bit foolish if the conditions are terrible. We have to play according to the conditions and what’s out there.

“But if the conditions suit us, that’s definitely the way we want to play. We want to play exciting rugby, score tries and I think that’s the type of rugby that excites this team.

“The guys like Marcus and Thomas, we’ve seen them on the bigger stage now and hopefully they can do more of that in the Heineken [Champions Cup] Cup.”

Quins’ opening Pool B game sees them travel to TOP 14 side Castres Olympique on Sunday – an encounter he believes will feature an intense contest up front.

“Obviously, [with regards to] playing the French teams, [it’s] always very physical,” he commented. “Also, they can switch it up and bring that French flair, so [it’ll] probably [be] a bit of both.

“I think the physical battle against them is going to be massive for us. If we stand a chance to get a win against Castres away, obviously we have to be up [for it].

“First of all, set pieces and physicality for us will be a massive focus, and off the back of that, we can play and give Marcus and those boys a good ball to showcase their skills.”

Harlequins lock Stephan Lewies has revealed that he wanted “to be a part of” the Heineken Champions Cup even while playing back in his native South Africa.