The Gunnedah junior admits there were times, as the coronavirus pandemic plunged the game into crisis, where he doubted he would be running out for the Reds again this season.

But at Suncorp Stadium in Friday night, he picked up straight where he left off as the new Super Rugby AU competition kicked-off.

The No.8 was in the thick of it as the Reds snuck home 32-26 over the NSW Waratahs to end an 11-game losing run against their state of origin rivals and also reclaim the Bob Templeton Cup.

READ ALSO:

The first silverware Wilson has won in a Reds jersey, it was really a bonus. After months of uncertainty, it was just "awesome" to be back playing footy again.

"I guess for a good month or two during COVID you thought there was not much chance of all of getting back on the field. It was pretty surreal the week leading up to it knowing footy's actually back," Wilson said.

He said he was pretty excited all week and quipped that Friday was "a long day".

"[But] Once I got to the game it felt real - like footy's properly back - and I was super excited for it," he said.

One of the form players in the Super Rugby competition when it was abandoned, Wilson continued that form on Friday night. He scored a try - muscling his way over the top of Waratahs defence to put the Reds back in front with 15 minutes to play - had the most runs (13) and metres (50) of any of the Reds forwards and was their top tackler with 11.

"It was kind of a a weird game to get into as a forward, because the ball was pretty slippery and it was a lot of kicking backwards and forwards so we found it pretty hard to get involved early in attack," he said.

"[But] I was happy for first game back and I think I can just improve from here now."

As for the Reds, after a slow start to the Super Rugby season - they lost their first three - he said it was good to start the competition "the right way this time", the win a good launching pad into the remainder of the competition.

"That was the type of game we lost pre-COVID, the scrappy tight games we were losing them so it was good to win the game when we didn't play to our potential at all, so now we can go forward how we're going to play as a team," Wilson said.

Support the local news that keeps you informed subscribe today.

This week they have the Rebels, who went down to the Brumbies but gave the competition favourites a scare.

"They've got a pretty big forward pack so we'll have to try and shape up there and make sure we are on the front foot for the backs," he said.