TOMMY BOWE looks set to rejoin Ulster at the end of the season after choosing his native province ahead of Munster.

The Irish winger still has over a year left on his current contract with the Ospreys and has also attracted interest from French clubs, and hence a deal to play for Ulster has yet to be agreed and signed, though it looks his likeliest destination now.

Part of the stumbling block would be wages, as it is believed that Bowe is earning in the region of £350,000 (€422,000) per year at the Ospreys and would have to take a significant drop in earnings if he were to return to Ireland. A move back to Ulster had been explored at the end of last season, while Munster have expressed an interest in the Lions winger this time around, but the 27-year-old is apparently more receptive to the idea of rejoining Ulster now.

Having broken into the Ulster team at the end of the 2003-04 season, scoring on his debut against Connacht, Bowe spent four seasons with his native province before joining the Ospreys after missing out on Eddie Sullivan’s squad for the 2007 World Cup.

During a prolific time in Swansea, Bowe undoubtedly became a better player. He won both the Ulster and Ireland Player of the Year awards in 2008 before signing a three-year extension to his initial two-year deal, following which he played a leading role in Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam success and was a regular starter for the Lions throughout the test series in South Africa, playing at outside centre in the third test.

He maintained his form in 2009-’10, adorning an outstanding performance with two tries in the win over England at Twickenham and was voted 2010 Six Nations Player of the Championship.

However, since the end of last season, there has been a changing of the guard at the Ospreys, with Lee Byrne, James Hook and Mike Phillips all having left during the close-season. The Welsh region failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup and although Bowe was orchestrator in chief of one try and scored the other last Sunday against Wales (his 20th in 45 tests for Ireland) he is not quite the assured player of, say, this time last season.

Aside from the feeling that his Ospreys four-year sojourn has perhaps run its course, after initially rejuvenating his career, Ulster are a more ambitious and upwardly mobile force in Europe and the league than when he left.

The former Monaghan minor Gaelic footballer will turn 28 later this month and he might also be looking at Irish team-mates such as Stephen Ferris, Rory Best and Andrew Trimble, and see the benefits in the IRFU’s player management programme. However, no deal has yet been signed and it could be a while yet before pen is formally put to paper.