ULSTER will put on another piece of their massive armoury on Friday night when Roger Wilson starts in the PRO12 game against Edinburgh at Ravenhill (7.05).
The towering No 8 is no stranger to the Belfast stadium. He will, after all, be making his 118th appearance in the Ulster shirt.
But given that this is first game in front of the home fans since May 9, 2008.
That proved an emotional night in Belfast, as David Humphreys, Tommy Bowe and Wilson all bid a farewell to Ravenhill - for outhalf Humphreys, now the director of rugby, it was his final swagger.
However, Bowe, who had agreed a deal to the Ospreys and Wilson to the Saints, had admitted they would probably be back.
And the two prodigal sons returned this season.
But Wilson’s return has been delayed by a serious hamstring injury picked up in his final game with the Saints.
Injury is not something the former RBAI double Schools’ Cup winner (1998 and 2000) has had to deal with over the years, proving quite durable, certainly during his previous time with the Province.
But the hamstring was torn from the bone on this occasion and it has been a long, long summer for the 31-year-old.
Wilson said: “It was not the way I wanted to be returning to Ulster.
“And things are not quite there yet, the hamstring is as good as it can be at the moment.
“The nature of the injury will mean that it will take about another month maybe before I would not feel it any more.
“There will still be a big of tightness and there will be a bit more needed during the warm up.
“I may not have 100 per cent acceleration or agility just yet, but it is good enough to play rugby with.”
Watching what has been the perfect start to the season for Ulster in terms of results - unbeaten in both the PRO12 and Heineken Cup, Wilson admits he has been itching to get back to playing.
“I was sort of angling to get back a bit earlier. But the physios and the medical team wanted me to be paitent.
“Of course they were right because if I was to injure the hamstring for a second time, the wait could be even longer.”
While in England with the Saints, Wilson not surprisingly established himself as one of the best No 8s in the game - certainly arguably the best in the Premiership.
He enjoyed success with the Saints, winning the Amlin Challenge Cup alongside another former Ulster player, Neil Best.
Wilson also, like his current Ulster team mates, went on to play in a Heineken Cup final, and like the Irish Province had to endure a defeat to Leinster.
In spite of being a high profile player in the Premiership, the Ireland management still ignored Wilson and to date he has just the one Irish cap, having played on the summer tour to Japan in 2005.
Wilson played 117 games with Northampton, but while his decision to leave Ulster was right, the option to return was always going to be there and he timed it perfectly, adding tremendous strength in depth to a powerful squad.
Wilson broke himself back into play with a first half appearance for the Ulster Ravens in their opening British & Irish Cup pool against Bridgend and then featured further in the away game to Bristol, scoring two tries.
That saw him finally pull the Ulster jersey back on again when he came on for 23 minutes against The Dragons in Newport last week in the PRO 12 and now he completes his target of a start against Edinburgh tomorrow night.
“It is a good time to be coming back,” said Wilson. “The boys have been playing well, especially those in the backrow and Nick Williams - his main competition for the No 8 shirt - has had a fantastic start to the season since joining.
“Like those before me, it is important I take the opportunity when it comes. I am looking forward to being at Ravenhill on Friday night and it will be a special occasion for me.”
The Ravenhill faithful will be pleased to see Wilson back too.
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