Paul O’Connell has said that retirement is something he thinks about regularly and that deciding when to hang up his boots will be a "very difficult decision".
The second row will turn 36 in October, immediately after the quarter-final stage of the Rugby World Cup at which he will captain Ireland.
Contracted until 2016 and in exceptional form over the last two seasons, there is every chance that O'Connell will choose to finish his career after that tournament.
Speaking to Alan Quinlan in a special interview to be broadcast on tonight’s Against The Head (7pm, RTÉ2), O’Connell said: “It is something I think about all the time, and chat to my family about all the time. It is a very difficult decision to make.
"You are doing something so long, it is so much fun, it’s your hobby and it is a tough thing to walk away from. So it is a very difficult decision."
Watch the full interview on Against The Head tonight from 7pm on RTÉ 2.
