RUGBY: LAST JANUARY Ulster competently dispatched Aironi, 43-6, at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, but one particular incident in that game looked set to have huge consequences for Irish rugby.

Stephen Ferris’ knee buckled underneath him. The hulking flanker didn’t have the ball, nor was he making one of his trademark, crunching tackles. It just buckled. Down he went, disappearing into that shadowy world of rehabilitation for seven months.

In a World Cup year, Ireland seemed to have been robbed of the most powerful player produced by the professional era. As weeks turned into months, it certainly didn’t seem like Ferris and Seánie O’Brien would be scrapping over this title come the autumn.

Rumours gained legs, mainly due to a lack of official clarification about his troubled knee cartilage and the seemingly innocuous manner of the injury.

Something similar happened during the Lions tour of 2009. Ferris was branded as damaged goods and it seemed like his hugely-anticipated peak as a player would never be reached.

The most solid information of creeping progress towards fitness came via his own musings on Twitter. A little jogging here, some running there. Then silence as he went into the Ireland camp.

August came and he returned with the eight months of gym work clearly adding even more muscle to his massive frame.

By September’s World Cup, the mobility had also returned as had his innate desire to succeed. The opposition were being punished again. Just ask Will Genia.

“Yeah, the World Cup went well playing in a tremendous backrow with Seánie, Jamie (Heaslip) and (Denis) Leamy on the bench,” said Ferris this week. “We had a great partnership with each other and, hopefully, we will see these guys in a couple of weeks when we play Leinster and Munster.”

Ulster, finally, have profited of late by his improved conditioning. Tomorrow, they face Aironi eight days after wiping them 31-10 at Ravenhill.

“I’m feeling great,” Ferris confirmed. “My knee was obviously a worry after injuring it last year away to Aironi in the Heineken Cup. It will be funny going back, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m feeling good, really fresh. That’s one thing about this year; I have got a lot of games under my belt. Hopefully, that will continue into the New Year.”

His usual wrecking-ball self of late, he has galloped over for three tries in the last two games. There are even some subtle additions to his style, as he seeks to deny defenders going low and chopping him down.

“Trimby (Andrew Trimble) wasn’t getting a pass against Scarlets,” he said of the recent decision to ignore the natural finishing ability of a winger to go it alone. “I have been working on my right foot-step. It is something I have worked on with Ireland – getting a lot of width in my game. If you get that you are also stretching the defence.”

And that means miss-matches: “Fortunately I came up against two 12s, against Scarlets and Aironi, and got a good-left hand fend, right-hand fend. Transferring the ball and working on my fend.”

The “fend” must be like seeing the open face of a shovel a split second before it wallops into your face.

Victory in Italy last January provided Ulster with safe passage into the knockout stages for the first time in 12 years. The route is choppier this time, arguably the toughest Pool in the competition, with Aironi ragged dolled on the road, also hammered 54-3 in Clermont, but they denied Leicester a bonus point at home.

“We knew we had a stronger pack and if we got on top of them early on we would have a good chance,” said Ferris of last Friday’s performance. “We played some good stuff against them and were leading the first half. They only really started to play against us in the last 15 minutes. I think that’s where they will look to start from at home – a lot of pick and goes; try and muscle us up front. We just got to put in a physical performance.”

Mauro Bergamasco and Nick Williams are expected to come into the Aironi pack and that represents a huge injection of physicality.

Also, the fixture has been switched from Luigi Zaffanella to the larger soccer ground, Stadio Brianteo, as the Italians have clearly targeted this fixture as their chance to do what they did to Biarritz last season.

As yet, that 28-27 defeat of the unsuspecting Basques club is their only victory in the Heineken Cup.

It came off a late drop goal by Julien Laharrague, but the real warning for Ulster is the fact Biarritz crossed for four tries. The usual template for European away win games was abandoned in search of a bonus point. In the end, two bonus points, one for losing, were all they accrued.

“We are confident we can get a few tries away from home and try and get a win over there.”

If Ferris is confident then Ulster should be just fine.

“Yeah, the World Cup went well playing in a tremendous backrow with Seanie, Jamie (Heaslip) and (Denis) Leamy on the bench. We had a great partnership with each other and hopefully we will see these guys in a couple of weeks when we play Leinster and Munster