"There feels like a different buzz about the place," says Iain Henderson.
It could be in his head. A Lions tour, a marriage, a honeymoon, injury free and a new season, Henderson finds himself in the aftermath of a summer of buzz.
The secondrow and flanker made Warren Gatland’s life difficult in New Zealand. That’s what many on this island would believe and while Henderson scandalously, insanely, incomprehensibly... missed out on Test selection, he wasn’t far off. It doesn’t sour him.
He will sit out Ulster's opening match against the Cheetahs this weekend in Belfast. In his head rounds three or four of the Pro14 is when he makes his way back. But Henderson, with renewed edge and aggression, has returned as a shoo-in to Joe Schmidt's November Test side.
Only three per cent of those surveyed by Rugby Players Ireland last year stated that they never worry about their playing performance, with 93 per cent admitting to worrying about team selection. Henderson three per cent then?
“If you had said to me six months before the tour that I would be a Lion but not get a Test spot I would have bitten your hand off,” he says. “On the field but off the field too, I really, really enjoyed it.
“It’s frustrating looking back, but before, 100 per cent I would have taken it. It was an incredible experience, making great mates and playing enjoyable rugby. It gives you a good summer off and leaves you ready and excited for a new season.”
Working less with Gatland and more with Steve Borthwick, Henderson is also relieved to have gotten over the serious hamstring injury that kept him out of a chunk of last season.
He felt he had played himself into the mix for Gatland but when all was said and done the Test side was less flexible than fixed.
“He (Steve Borthwick) told me a lot about how I can do things differently, what I need to do better, what I can improve on,” says Henderson. “It was really good to get feedback from him.
“You have an idea of what you’re heading towards. I felt I did okay against the Chiefs and Hurricanes to maybe put myself in the mixer. But the teams were maybe slightly more solidified than I would have hoped for.”
Ulster are less solid than Henderson would like. But he's not agreeing to that. The outhalf problem, with Paddy Jackson missing, is an obvious concern and after a slow start last season, the side wants to avoid more of the same.
Light infantry
Playing catch up is something to assiduously avoid but with the disruption at 10 and the Lions and Irish players feeding back according to player welfare schedules, it’s the light infantry who are going to have to make Ulster work for the opening weeks.
“It’s really important we get that start to the season,” he says. “We need a strong start so that we’re not relying on the games at the end, that’s key. That’s what’s broken us maybe over the last few seasons.
“We need to make sure when we’re in the league, we’re concentrating on the league and when we’re in the Champions Cup we’re focusing on the Champions Cup.
“When it comes to our time to play, we need to add something and maybe bring something back of what we’ve learned and what the boys have learned in (the Irish tour to) Japan.”
There is one thing Henderson advocates, something that is rarely factored into the rugby equation and is central to the imperative of winning. It is what goes on in a player’s head.
“I think I play better when I enjoy it. That’s something that maybe, when you’re worrying about the details of rugby, you forget to enjoy yourself,” says Henderson.
“That maybe happened Ulster a bit last year. We had a decent start and then into the Champions Cup, you’ve lost a couple of games and you’re trying to get momentum back, forcing it a bit.
“From the tour, I found that when you’re enjoying it, having a bit of craic along the way, you play better. That’s something we need to look at.”
The buzz. Often overlooked.
