Ireland kick-off their Six Nations campaign this weekend against Wales, marking the start of the championship in front of a full house at Dublin's 52,000-seater Aviva Stadium.
Saturday afternoon's curtain-raiser also marks another milestone for rugby fans as they'll be flocking back to pubs across Northern Ireland to catch the action on the big screen.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the 2021 championship was played behind closed doors.
It's not just the fans who are looking forward to getting back into get into Six Nations mode this weekend and experiencing the championship atmosphere again.
Bar owners in Belfast are equally excited about the return of punters to catch the action on the big screen from this Saturday and all the way through to the closing weekend on March 19.
The Deer’s Head on Lower Garfield Street in the city centre opened its doors last July and manager Barry Rylands is looking forward to a busy few weeks ahead.
He told Belfast Live: "Just getting back to normal again makes life so much easier and you can see people enjoying themselves more now too. They're more relaxed and there's a great buzz about, especially last weekend when Saturday was one of our best days so far since we opened.
"If it was like that in January then we wonder what the rest of the year will bring so having the Six Nations back for the next few weeks will be great. To get tourists back again too would be the real icing on the cake."
With more rules eased in recent weeks including the ending of Covid certification to enter bars, the requirement to remain seated and the limit of six per table, Barry says the timing couldn't be more perfect.
He added: "People can go back to ordering at the bar again but we will still be offering table service too as I think some have come to like that. It will be very busy and a case of first come, first served.
"While there'll be a great atmosphere in the bars, it'll be the same at the games too with spectators allowed back this year, which I'm sure was strange for the players.
"We're expecting to be packed out for the next few weeks of games anyway, which is great for the whole country but Belfast especially. The staff obviously love it too as nobody likes a quiet bar and there's a better atmosphere and more craic with a crowd in and the TV blaring. Hopefully the crowd will be bouncing and it'll just be great to see people back again in big numbers."
Across town, the roof will also be raised at one of Belfast’s most famous pubs.
The Errigle Inn on the Ormeau Road has been a South Belfast pub institution since 1935 and last July, it opened its refurbished roof garden, the perfect place to watch the Six Nations.
General manager Philip McGurran said: "People are feeling confident about coming out again and celebrating in a safe manner. We're happy to be here with all our space and screens to make sure we can look after everybody.
"It's another step forward towards normality and we don't want to go backwards again. We'll still be keeping measures such as track and trace in place to keep people safe and with either ordering at the bar or table service.
"I'm cautiously optimistic and looking forward to getting back to it because we always call ourselves 'the home of rugby' given our close proximity to the Ravenhill grounds."
Philip added: "Overall it's first come, first served and we have five different bars, a roof garden and a beer garden. To keep everyone happy we have first come, first served in one of our upstairs rooms, another is bookable but it's already booked solid for the entire Six Nations.
"There's always a great buzz and vibe around The Errigle as a well established rugby bar so we always look forward to the rugby season when it comes around. This year's championship will be extra special because we missed out last year."
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