That is Falcons boss Rob Andrews assessment as Newcastle prepare to welcome back England World Cup star Jonny Wilkinson from long-term injury - and greet high-profile new signings Colin Charvis, Matt Burke and Semo Sititi.

We just felt that we lacked a little bit of experience and we have tried to rectify that, he said.

I feel this is the best group of players we have had at the club, added Andrew, who hinted that fly-half Wilkinson will make his comeback in next Tuesdays pre-season friendly against Connacht in Galway.

Wilkinson, Englands record international points scorer, has not played since December 28 last year when he suffered a so-called stinger injury to his neck.

It also seriously affected his shoulder and arm, and he underwent surgery two months later to try and rectify what had become a career-threatening situation.

England boss Sir Clive Woodward will receive a huge lift just through the mere prospect of Wilkinson playing again.

Englands first game of the new campaign is against Canada at Twickenham on November 13.

The whole time, I have had such help from the club, family, friends and team-mates, said Wilkinson.

I have pretty much trained from two days after the operation through to when I went away for a week in the summer, and then picked up immediately when I came back.

I have had goals in mind. I had things that I wanted to achieve by the end of the summer, so I was getting on with them and kept maybe the possibility of things taking longer than I thought (to recover) deep in the background.

It is a relatively fresh start for me. I have been out for a long time, and I am going to have to find my way around from game one.

I am starting off with a fairly blank sheet of paper and I am just going to go out there and try and put into practice what I have been training on and see where it takes us, he added.

I really want to concentrate on just going out there and making the most of the time I have got. You never quite know when the finish line is for you, and for me it could have been March this year.

That sense of realism could point to a visibly more relaxed Wilkinson when he takes the field again.

The great thing about playing in team sports is the memories you can take from the experiences, he added.

I have had some great experiences and I have got some great things to say that I have been involved in - but maybe I cant say that I have smiled my way through it.

Maybe I want to do a bit more of that. It tends to fit the formula that if you are enjoying something you are doing then you tend to do it better.