After 12 years and more than a century of Test caps, Brian O'Driscoll says he is hungrier than ever for success as he prepares to lead Ireland into the Six Nations.
The 32-year-old centre admits that while the punishing physical demands of more than a decade of top-flight rugby have taken their toll, the adrenaline rush of competition makes it all worthwhile.
And with the clock ticking on one of the great careers of modern rugby, O'Driscoll is determined to savour every last experience of what will be his 12th Six Nations championship, even though he has no immediate plans to retire.
'I've stopped putting time constraints on myself as to when I have to give up,' O'Driscoll said. 'As long as the body is still feeling good and the mind is backing that up, I don't see any reason to give up.
'I'm really looking forward to the Six Nations because I love this competition. My interest hasn't waned in any way shape or form over the last decade or so.
'If anything I probably have more of a hunger for it now in the knowledge that I don't know how many more years I will have left.
'You treat each Six Nations like it could be your last. In doing so you thoroughly enjoy each moment, whether it be playing or on the bus journey to and from games.
'The small things give me as much of a buzz now as they did 10 years ago.'
O'Driscoll, whose international caps tally stands at 113 including British and Irish Lions appearances, admits that the passing of time and the increased demands of professional rugby means his body takes longer to recover.
'The Six Nations has definitely got harder over the years. The game has become harder, more physical, more demanding,' O'Driscoll said.
'If you asked 100 players in the Six Nations how many of them were 100 percent fit, 99 would say they had some niggle and the other person would be a liar.
'It's impossible to go out 100 percent fit these days because of the physicality, both at provincial and international level. But adrenaline is brilliant at getting you through those small ailments that you have.
'The feeling you get in a winning dressing room makes you forget the sore muscles and bones for a couple of hours. It's definitely a feeling I enjoy.'
O'Driscoll has called on players and supporters to make the redeveloped stadium at Lansdowne Road an intimidating arena as it hosts its first Six Nations matches.
'We need to try and turn it into a little bit of a fortress for ourselves,' he said. 'And hopefully the supporters will be be out in force to get that old Lansdowne roar going again.'
'We had a reasonable November series - we won two and lost two,' O'Driscoll said. 'Plenty of other sides did better than us but we're quietly confident that if we get our game together we'll be in the hunt in some capacity.
'But I haven't really thought about slipping under any radar or about any other side that has done likewise.
'We're just plodding along like we always do, working hard.'
