Out half Ian Humphreys is enjoying life with Ulster, both on and off the pitch, since his return to the province after a spell with Leicester Tigers.

And now he looks forward to Friday night's Magner's League clash with Connacht at Ravenhill and a reunuion with former Leicester pal Frank Murphy.

The former Belfast Harlequin was snapped up by the former European champions after some impressive performances for Ireland A and gaining a wealth of experience from his time at Welford Road.

“It has been very nice for both my wife and myself to get home to friends and family. Things are very different and there are certain aspects of England we miss but so far we have settled in very well, the rest of the squad has been very good and it’s been enjoyable,” Humphreys insisted.

With Paddy Wallace and Niall O’Connor also battling for the out half shirt, Humphreys has had to bide his time but when the opportunity has come he has taken full advantage.

“There were a few games at the start of the season where I came on and perhaps didn’t do very well," he admitted.

"It was nice to get a bit of an extended run against Munster and a start against Portugal to get out and get a feel for Ravenhill and it was really enjoyable.

"At the end of the day all I want to do is play rugby so to get out on the pitch is great for me.”

Scrum half Cillian Willis was also a summer signing for Ulster and he has forced his way into the starting line up and the two combined to great effect in the win over Munster.

“I think it went quite well," reflects Humphreys. "Cillian is a good player and reminds everyone that he is Brian O’Driscoll’s cousin so he’s got the nickname Drico.

"Isaac Boss and Paul Marshall have done very well with the chances they have got so we’re very lucky that we have good strength in depth throughout the squad.”

Ulster’s last league outing brought a victory over Heineken Cup champions Munster but Humphreys insists the squad will not get carried away.

“It was only one win and there is no point beating them and losing the next few games," he maintains. Hopefully we can get a win against Connacht on Friday night and build on that for the next few weeks because we have a lot of big games with the two Heinekens and then Leinster and Munster, so it would be nice to get a run of wins.

"Connacht are a very good team who like to battle hard so it is always a difficult game and we’ll look forward to those other games as they come.”

Humphreys could come up against a familiar face on Friday night in the form of Connacht scrum half Frank Murphy who also left Leicester in the summer.

“Hopefully Frank will stay up this weekend, we basically lived together for a year at Leicester and my wife and myself hang out a lot with him and his girlfriend and I’m looking forward to catching up with him," smiled Humphreys.

"We have played together a lot so we’ll know bits and pieces of each other's game"

Matt Williams has named a 26 man squad for the return of Friday night rugby to Ravenhill, including Scottish international winger Simon Danielli after coming through the A team game in Cardiff unscathed.