Leinster lock Joe McCarthy insists he is relishing the arrival of RG Snyman from Munster, saying the addition of the double World Cup winner can only improve his game.
The 28-year-old South African second row's controversial move was confirmed before Christmas and he'll join at the end of the current season.
A shoulder / chest injury is expected to keep him sidelined until the latter stages of the season.
"[RG is] a great player, I'm sure it will be very exciting to see," said the 22-year-old Dubliner.
"It's a long way away but he's a class player so he should add a lot.
"I suppose there's loads of competition now and he'll add more, which is great. It's never good to be comfortable in your position. You always want to be fighting, that brings out the best in you.
"I love trying to learn from different people. Different perspectives are class, even now we've got Jason [Jenkins], he's South African and brings something different. It's class learning off him and Jacques [Nienaber] already.
"We've got Goodie [Andrew Goodman, backs coach] from New Zealand obviously, Leo is world class, Robin [McBryde, scrum coach] from Wales, it's unbelievable having so many different thinkers of the game. I love just soaking up as much as I can.
"The more voices the better."
McCarthy said he enjoyed the battle against Munster after Leinster came out 9-3 winners in difficult conditions on St Stephen's Day.
He was at the heart of everything good as three Harry Byrne penalties saw the visitors return to the top of the BKT URC standings.
Named player of the match for his all-action display on both sides of the ball in wet and windy conditions, the Ireland international said: " I kind of enjoy it, to be honest.
"I don't mind scrumming and mauling all day, it probably suits my strengths. I think everyone was embracing it.
"We've had wins like this in tough conditions already so it was satisfying.
"[We] definitely didn't think it was going to be that bad at all. I thought it might be a bit cold and small bit windy, but didn't expect it to be that wet.
"Then travelling to the ground we knew it would be very wet so you're kind of thinking about what lineouts you're going to use, and that we might be focused on kick-chase and kicking a bit more, you're not going to be able to play as much, so a few small tweaks but I think we're pretty adaptable.
"We've had a few tough games in the rain already this season so we're well used to it."
Picked out by Donal Lenihan as the man of the match, McCarthy, who has five Ireland caps, also drew praise from head coach Leo Cullen, whose side host Ulster on New Year's Day (5.15pm).
"Joe is getting better all the time, but he works unbelievably hard at his game, all aspects of his game," he said of the 6ft 6in lock.
"He is a great guy to work with generally. He is improving his game all the time.
"He's going good. It’s his type of game as well, isn’t it? In the trenches, which he loves, making a nuisance of himself."
Meanwhile, Munster coach Graham Rowntree said they will look at adding to their ranks after another bruising encounter, during which Edwin Edogbo, Diarmuid Barron, Dave Kilcoyne and Alex Nankivell were added to an injury list that already included forwards Peter O'Mahony, Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley, Niall Scannell, Snyman and Roman Salanoa.
On a positive note, Rowntree said he was pleased with how new signing Oli Jager (above) has settled in after the tighthead prop started his first match.
"It was a ding-dong battle. I've been really pleased with Oli and how he’s fitted in," said the Englishman, who will bring his side to Galway for a derby against Connacht on Monday (3pm).
"He’s going to be a special player for this club. A huge man, good composure, very good to coach. Very good in his micro chats with the young lads and the guys around him.
"That was a ding-dong and they were able to bring on [Dan] Sheehan, Jenkins, [Ryan] Baird, you know, we didn’t have those resources and we dug in there, particularly at the end of the game.
"Jeremy [Loughman] gets yellow carded, Oli comes back on at loosehead, we can resource the scrum which meant we didn’t have to take bodies off elsewhere which would have created space… we dug in there and got a losing bonus point because of that.
"It was a fierce game. It wasn’t a try-fest, just a fierce game. We were fighting for every inch there and [had] moments in the game. I’m proud of the lads."
Watch the RTÉ Panel discuss RG Snyman joining Leinster next season
