Cian Healy will be turning 36 years old during the Rugby World Cup, but the veteran loosehead doesn't want the tournament in France to be his last dance with Ireland.
The Leinster prop made his 124th Ireland appearance in last Saturday's warm-up win against Italy, coming off the bench to score Ireland's fourth try of the evening - his 12th in a distinguished Test career.
His cameo against the Italians saw him draw level with Rory Best as Ireland's third most-capped player, with just Ronan O'Gara (128) and Brian O'Driscoll (133) ahead of him on the all time list.
"It is a nice thing, but I don't massively count caps," he said, after being reminded of last week's milestone.
"It is nice to have been in for that long and had that many opportunities in green.
"I actually love pulling the jersey on so every time; first, 100th, or whatever, I've enjoyed every one of them."
It's just short of 14 years since his debut against Australia in November 2009, and in that time he's played his part in four Six Nations titles with Ireland.
In theory, he could move level with O'Driscoll on 133 caps by the end of the year, although for that to happen Ireland would have to reach a World Cup final or third-place playoff, and Healy (below) would have to play every game between now and then.
Regardless, he doesn't intend to follow captain Johnny Sexton into retirement after the tournament, confirming he's under contract at Leinster for this season, and intends to be available for Ireland selection.
"Body's holding up well. The odd Sunday it would be sore now but holding up alright," he added.
His desire to keep playing possibly stems from how close he came to retiring eight years ago.
A nerve injury in his neck before the 2015 Rugby World Cup brought him to the verge of quitting the game before he made a breakthrough in his recovery.
And he says those experiences have made him appreciate the time he has in the game.
"I put it in the rearview mirror and the decision to make then is do you finish or can you give more? Can you be a positive influence on something?
"I decided to try be a positive influence and bring the best version of yourself to a group, and that's what I always try to do.
"I try not to mope in on a tired morning but bounce into a building, be a bit of craic and have the right energy for pitch sessions, and make sure I'm not the person who's making someone else feel, 'Jeez, this is a long day.'
"I think it's important not to be like that because I've trained with people in the past who were more energy vampires than energy givers. It has all been looking forward for me since then.
"You realise the position you are in. It's not a normal job and it’s not a job that you get very easily. When you break it down you realise you are in a very privileged position to play for your country."
In recent seasons, Healy has seen his role in the side change, with Andrew Porter overtaking him as first choice loosehead in 2021.
Despite losing his place in the starting side, his experience has proved invaluable, and his ability to cover both tighthead and hooker means he's almost certain to be named in Andy Farrell's squad later this month for what would be a fourth World Cup.
It's not unusual for props to play late into their 30s, and as one of the experienced players in the group, he's found enjoyment in passing some of the trade secrets down the line.
"If I have a feeling about something someone's doing in a scrum that's good or bad or that can be worked on, I'll probably pull them aside and have a chat and get on the tape and figure it out with them and figure out how they're feeling.
"It's something I like doing and I guess it's important. If you've been in a lot of scrums and now having been on the other side [at tighthead], I have got a bit more of an understanding of what looseheads actually do, how it feels when you do something because I never knew when I'd do something and it works and tighthead doesn't go well.
"I never knew how it felt until I went against Ports [Andrew Porter] really, Ports and Eddie Byrne. Ed scrummages kind of similar to me and he nearly took the neck off me!
"It's good to have that bit of experience to be able to chat to them and maybe have an opinion that can further them."
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