Ravai Fatiaki says it felt good to pull on the blue and gold shirt once again after missing much of last season through injury.
The Fijian centre came through unscathed after playing the full 80 minutes of last Wednesday’s pre-season victory over Rotherham Titans.
It was the 26-year-old’s first Warriors appearance since last November’s trip to Exeter Chiefs and Fatiaki admits he was delighted with his comeback.
He said: “I was quite nervous before the game because I hadn’t played for nearly ten months. But I was really pleased that it went so well.
“The game itself was tough as they had quite a few big players and they played really well. But we managed to scrape the win and it felt good to be back.”
Fatiaki has played 13 times for Warriors since joining the club after the 2011 Rugby World Cup. And he insists this season is the start of a new chapter in his Sixways career.
He continued: “It was frustrating for me last season as I wasn’t sure if I would come back in. You watch training and you want to be part of it. I was training to recover but not to play.
“But it’s an exciting time to come back because we have good competition in the centre with the likes of Clarkey, Grovesy, Josh Matavesi and Max Stelling.”
Warriors begin their Aviva Premiership season in less than three weeks and, according to Fatiaki, the curtain raiser will provide his side with the ultimate test.
He added: “Leicester away would be good to be involved in as I am excited to play with then boys again. We have a good team this season so I am looking forward to it.
“It is a tough start and Leicester are a good team. They won the Aviva Premiership so it will be a big challenge for us.”