“I’ve taken pride in the whole process and that’s probably why this team has got to where it is now otherwise it wouldn’t happened. If we didn’t have pride when we were 11th, we wouldn’t have got to where we are now because we wouldn’t have cared.
“We went through that low period 2017-2019 where the relationship wasn’t great between players and fans, for obvious reasons. We weren’t performing so they put us under a lot of heat.
“I feel like we’ve come out the other side and the stadium is bouncing again and you can really feel that player-fan bond. Even internationally, it’s one of the top stadiums I’ve played in. It’s a special place.
“I’ve been thinking about it [his last home game] for ages. I want to completely empty the tank for the supporters who have been there throughout.”
The Tigers faithful will flock to Matiolli Woods Welford Road on Saturday as Leicester enter another 'big game scenario', something which has been a rarity since they reached the play-offs in 2017.
In the last 12 months, Borthwick's charges have experienced a Challenge Cup final and also the cauldron of a Champions Cup quarter-final vs Leinster but on both occasions, they came up just short.
Against the Irish province, Leicester allowed their opposition to build up pressure which proved costly and Genge has vowed the Tigers will be alert from the first whistle when they face a Northampton side with serious momentum behind them.
“Leinster has probably ingrained a mentality that we will never come out of the blocks cold again,” said Genge. “We made a pact after that as forwards, that we would always come out of the blocks first. That’s what we plan to do. You can expect that from Leicester Tigers sides for years to come.”
The Saints come into their first Premiership semi-final in three years on the back of six wins from their last seven league games, but for Genge, this will be his first appearance of the term against Leicester's East Midlands rivals having missed both regular season fixtures.
It is clear listening to Genge how much this derby means and he is determined to channel his individual and collective emotions into a complete performance.
“I’ve always found it quite hard [to understand the derby] as I’m not from Leicester, although I’ve spent time growing up here from age 20 to 27 now,” he said. “
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"The academy boys are called Leicester skins, and I always wanted to be a Leicester skin. I’d like to think I’ve blooded myself in my own way and left my mark there. It didn’t mean much to start with. I remember when I first turned up to the club we had Racing 92 at the Nottingham Forest football stadium and then after we were away at Franklin’s Gardens and I went.
“I remember Harry Thacker ran riot and it was brilliant to watch. From there seeing the other boys who weren’t even playing in tears from us beating Saints — it showed me.
“I’ve had a few derbies in my time from all different levels of rugby, but the East Midlands is one that’s up there. You’ve got to beat the drum when the time’s right. You don’t want to do it early in the week. You’ve got to get your detail down first.
“If you start going nuts and spitting flames then you’re not going to learn much earlier in the week. You wait until Thursday, Friday, Saturday for the Any Given Sunday speeches. There’s a time and a place for those, though, definitely.
