With a shiny new pair of boots, the first he's had to buy himself in 15 years, it was a nervous but very excited Justin Harrison who reappeared at his old rugby home in Griffith yesterday.
His nerves were of a player many would consider over the hill trying to step back into one of the toughest professional environments in the world.
And they were the nerves of a man still serving a suspension for admitting to cocaine use while in England; one who knows he has a tough task to win back respect but who is grateful for that chance.
''I was nervous, I'm always nervous,'' Harrison said of his return. ''You always hope to do your best and when you expose yourself to ... public scrutiny and vitriol you need to recognise there's going to be good and bad comments.
''I'm hoping most of the guys recognise I'm here to be as good a player as I can be and that I'll push them and they'll push me.''
The place may have looked much the same as when Harrison left heartbroken after being cut by the club in 2003, but time had changed many things.
At 35, Harrison is far closer in age to the coaching staff than most of the young faces that greeted him as teammates yesterday.
Captain Stephen Hoiles joked that some of the young Brumbies ''were still in nappies'' when Harrison started playing for the ACT in 1997. Harrison drily remarked, ''I've probably raised the median age by a few months.''
And then there was the fact the old warhorse on a path to redemption was to be coached by men he once packed into scrums with forwards coach Owen Finegan and his assistant Marco Caputo.
But having introduced himself around to the majority who were strangers, and with a markedly quieter manner than the renowned big personality he often used to show at training, Harrison got about the business he knows best commanding a lineout.
Afterwards he warned he wasn't there just to mentor younger forwards and be a bit player off the bench next year. He wants to start and he wants to win.
''I don't show up expecting to get half a victory. There's no question, I need to be pushing for selection,'' he said.
To get himself match ready by the end of his eight-month suspension, Harrison is preparing for the tough fitness sessions that define a pre-season. But in an acknowledgement of his age, he will be spared some sessions.
Finegan said, ''We know what we've got, we haven't got a spring chicken. He's 35. We'll be looking to make sure he's right to play rugby.''
Despite the fact there are much younger and fitter players in the squad, Harrison's vast experience has created a confidence in him throughout the organisation. While the Brumbies have taken a risk getting him on board, they believe he will be a major asset during what is meant to be a one-year stay, but which Harrison hopes lasts longer.
Hoiles described Harrison's signing as ''a massive boost'', while Finegan said he would add welcome ''mongrel'' to what is already a Wallabies-laden forward pack.
The question of what the public thinks given his fall from grace weighs on Harrison. So far the reaction has been positive.
''I think the reception so far has been okay. I haven't been run over yet. It's important for me to recognise it's up to me to prove the administration and the coaching staff right.''
ACT Sport Minister Andrew Barr gave the Government's approval, saying, ''I look forward to seeing Justin make a great contribution to the team and being a role model for young Canberrans in particular, reminding them of the importance of staying away from drugs.''
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