Ireland captain Keith Wood today revealed his determination to make an impact on the World Cup after ending almost a year of injury misery.
Wood played 70 minutes during Ireland's comfortable 35-12 World Cup warm-up victory over Wales at Lansdowne Road yesterday following a prolonged battle with shoulder problems that required seven operations.
It was his first taste of action since Ireland made the marathon journey to Krasnoyarsk and beat Russia in a World Cup qualifier last September.
And although there is still a long road ahead on the comeback trail, early signs are promising for Irish rugby's talisman.
"I don't want to go the World Cup and be an extra - I want to be playing as well as I can," he said.
"I would have to be content enough with the way things went against Wales, although I was shattered at the end of it.
"There were some big hits in the scrums, and I got clobbered a few times around the field. I also made one lineout call that didn't exist! It's all the little things like that you forget about.
"I know that I will be very sore in the next few days, but there was no bad pain during the game, no twinges or anything," he added.
Wood looks set to continue his rehabilitation by making an appearance for Munster against Rotherham next Friday night, while Ireland still have two more scheduled warm-up appointments with Italy and Scotland.
"It is going to take three or four games to get fully match-fit. I have to catch up very quickly," he said.
Wood's return was the highlight for Ireland on a gloriously sunny, but low-key, Dublin afternoon, when a young and inexperienced Welsh side predictably finished second-best.
Ireland's five tries were all scored by forwards - Paul O'Connell (two), Malcolm O'Kelly, Alan Quinlan and David Wallace - a statistic that reflected the pack's dominance, yet coach Eddie O'Sullivan knows he still has plenty to work on.
"These warm-up games are going to throw light on certain issues, and there were a few things that cropped up in terms of selection and how we played the game," O'Sullivan said.
"At times, I had to remind myself not to get frustrated. The first game of a season is always hard, and it is extra hard when that game is a Test match, but overall, I thought it was a pretty good performance."
O'Sullivan saw three of his players - David Humphreys (bruised calf), scrum-half Peter Stringer (bruised shoulder) and number eight Anthony Foley (hamstring strain) - suffer injuries, but none are thought to be long-term concerns.
Two players who missed the Wales game - wing Shane Horgan and flanker Victor Costello - are expected to feature at some point of Ireland's warm-up programme.
PA