When Lewis Moody pulls on the white shirt with the red rose for the first time since the World Cup final almost 12 months ago on Saturday he will end the most frustrating year of his career.
The Leicester flanker, with the blond hair and dynamic game, spearheads a back-row including best pals Joe Worsley and Martin Corry which has the daunting task of following in the legendary stud marks of Hill, Back and Dallaglio.
But Moody is not concerned with history and the changing of the old guard under England's new head coach Andy Robinson. He is just happy to be back playing after spending almost 10 months on the sidelines following a potentially career-ending foot injury which he first noticed while climbing up the step of the World Cup plane bound for Australia last autumn.
``It's just a genuine happiness and excitement to be back playing again after such a long time out,'' said Moody, who underwent an operation following his return from the World Cup and was forced to spend four months wearing a `moon-boot' to keep his foot incapacitated.
``I coped very, very poorly. It was the most frustrating period of my life to date. I've always been a very active person and to be told you've got to be completely non-weight bearing on your foot for eight weeks and then another eight weeks after that was tough.
``When I was looking to get back I was still suffering pain and setbacks. There's no easy way to do that. You just have to deal with it mentally. I'm not going to lie, there were down periods when I thought `What am I doing, it's never going to happen' but 10 or 20 minutes later you realise why you're doing the rehab and the goal at the end of the road is really worth it.''
The prize for the 26-year-old, who made his international debut against Canada in 2001 and who has learned so much from Leicester team-mate Neil Back, is a chance to make the open-side flanker position his own. And no-one could say that England's new back-row unit do not know each other well enough.
``I've played with Joe and Cozza (Corry) for years now. I played with Joe at schools, colts and Under-21 level so we've got a great rapport. With Martin we've played together for eight or nine years at Leicester. We have a great collective spirit.
``Everyone's playing well and out to make their mark.''
Moody is swift to admit how much he has learned over the past three years, operating in the shadow of the best back-row unit in international rugby. But with the retirements of Back and Dallaglio and serious injury to Richard Hill, there is also a sense that the future is now for the present squad.
``There's a lot of new faces around and a lot of learning to do,'' he said ``Having new players come in is part of being excited and enjoying the game. They bring something different. This match has been a long time coming and it's a great opportunity for me.''