It doesn't take much to realise that Ulster are contenders again. Just a quick glance at their team sheet really. The haemorrhage has not only been stemmed but the prodigals have started returning home, palpably revitalising rugby hopes up north so much so that Ravenhill could become a citadel once more.

Individual preferences, international ambitions, loyalty to Dungannon's Willie Anderson and the IRFU's belated willingness to professionalise the provinces may be the primary reasons, but the main beneficiary should be Ulster.

Mark McCall, David Humphreys and Allen Clarke are back, while Justin Fitzpatrick and Simon Mason have arrived, with the injured Jonathan Bell (as well as James Topping) to be added to the equation in a month or so.

Harry Williams is entitled to rub his hands together in eager anticipation of an all-international back-line, save for the scrum-half position. Then again, a stronger red hand leads to heightened expectations, though the newly installed Ulster Director of Rugby laughs them off.

"It's not so much a challenge, it means I've less work to do," he counters, light-heartedly. "You've guys there with immense ability, which makes putting team patterns into place much easier.

"You don't have to worry about covering up weaknesses so much. These guys are very demanding. They're internationals because they worked damn hard at their game."

A player input is encouraged by Williams in any case, and now sits readily in a squad far more experienced than last season's outfit.

They are also, of course, more professional - with 19 full-timers as opposed to four last season when the vast bulk of the squad were parttime. Hence, perhaps more than any other province, there were question marks about the requisite fitness levels (even from players within the camp) last season.

This was still manifest in pre-season training. "Because I only took over at the beginning of July it was immediately apparent that the international players coming back into the squad were fitter than others. We've had to work hard on that."

It also explains why Williams is stressing the need to work toward a "three-year plan", not so much cliched coach speak for "give me more time" as an acceptance of the way things are.

"Without naming names," he says, now picking his words carefully, "there are probably a number of players who won't be around in three years time. By then, I'd hope to see some of the younger players coming through."

To that longer-term end, he adds: "When the provincial and European campaigns are over, we intend concentrating a lot of our work on individual and technical training between November and next May."

Traditionally, in the 90s especially, Ulster have struggled to retain their younger players by comparison to Leinster and Munster. As a rule, young Ulster rugby players tend to go to Queen's, or, in the majority of cases, to universities in Scotland and England.

Williams admits this is a problem, and "we're trying to identify that". How to solve it is "the $6 million question. It's the culture up here. Sensible boys with academic ability realise they have to have something to fall back on, so unless we can develop some sort of scholarship system I'm not sure what the answer is".

For the moment, Williams has endeavoured to make the part-time contingent "an integral part" of the Ulster squad system, to whit they have trained three or four evenings a week.

There is, he says, "a good buzz in the squad and a greater sense of expectation amongst the clubs. They want Ulster to do well."

It's helped that one of the prodigal sons is an innate leader, Mark McCall, a notable beneficiary of professionalism even in the latter stages of his career. "I've known Mark since he was nine or 10 through our Bangor connection, and subsequently with Ulster and Ireland A. Even before money came into the game, Mark had a very professional outlook. It's a 100 per cent commitment for him and there's never anything shoddy about his work. He's a wonderful role model for the younger players."

McCall is also a steadying influence and mental minder for the more mercurial talents of his good friend David Humphreys. If Fitzpatrick, Clarke and Andy Ward can help the Ulster pack to compete equitably, then Humphreys could be the catalyst for their near all-international back-line.

It will be fascinating to see how Humphreys responds to his return from the London fast lane and the two-year relegation struggles at Sunbury. Will he drift into the comfort zone or relish the more homely environment, a happier person and player like, say, Victor Costello?

"He's certainly happier now than he's been and he's not the sort of lad to seek the comfort zone," counters Williams, who is, like most of us, a fan. "He has got it all, and he's a nice young man as well. He has good hands, good feet and a good head for the game. I think he's a very exciting talent.

Now 26, it's fair to ask whether Humphreys has realised this talent. "You've seen some good bits and you've seen some bad bits," concedes Williams eventually, though he also admits: "I have only good things to say about him (Humphreys). He mightn't always have got the type of ball he needs. An outhalf depends on the service he's given and he's a natural runner of the ball."

After a couple of worryingly lean years up North, the thought of a confident, in-form Humphreys galvanising a revitalised team is an exciting one. "We want to see the crowds coming back to Ravenhill, and put some fear and trembling back in the away sides," says Williams.

With the advent of a home and away series and a Super 12 points scoring system, Williams says he is "looking forward to the best interpros for quite some time". He maintains that "all four teams" could win the interpros, whereas "this time last year Ulster wouldn't have been too optimistic", which is as much as you'll get from him in terms of grandiose predictions.

Mindful of the qualifying process for next year's European Cup - admittedly not something to put the mortgage on in these turbulent times - Ulster's goal for the season is equally prosaic. "The players have agreed that we only have one objective this season, which is to qualify for next season's European Cup by finishing in the top two in the interpros. That's our sole objective."