Paul O’Connell has admitted he may have played his last game in the Munster shirt at Thomond Park to further fuel speculation of retirement, or even a switch abroad.
O’Connell made his comments to Sky Sports in the immediate aftermath of Munster’s nervy 21-18 Pro12 semi-final victory over Ospreys to book a spot in next week’s final in Belfast against Glasgow Warriors.
Asked whether the game was his last for Munster at Thomond Park, he said: “It probably is.”
The 35-year-old forward added: “I said before that summer will be the time when I make those decisions but that is probably the last time I play for Munster here anyway.”
The Ireland captain will turn 36 in October, immediately after the quarter-final stage of the Rugby World Cup.
Contracted until 2016 and in exceptional form over the last two seasons, O'Connell could choose to finish his career after that tournament.
However, there has been speculation in recent weeks that a move to European champions Toulon could be on the cards with club president Mourad Boudjellal reportedly putting together a two-year offer for the second row.
Looking towards next week’s final, O’Connell conceded Munster needed to eradicate some serious errors that blighted on today’s victory.
“We did so many things really well but we shot ourselves in the foot completely,” he said. “We scored some really good tries and played some really good rugby but made five or six glaring errors.”
