The end is not near but that's not to say Johnny Sexton isn’t thinking about the days when his life won’t include pulling on the green jersey he loves so much.
The 36-year-old missed the Guinness Six Nations round two defeat to France, pulling up with a hamstring injury in training three days before the game.
It robbed the Dubliner of what would possibly, nay probably, be his last championship appearance against Les Bleus in that famous stadium.
But in one of his strongest indications yet that the World Cup, and featuring at the business end of that tournament, is still a firm target, Sexton dared to think out loud about getting back to Saint Denis in late 2023 still a valuable member of the squad.
Asked about looking on from the sideline as his team, for which he has lined out 102 times, lost 30-24 to France, and the possibility that a Six Nations shot may not come again, he said: "Yeah, of course, they’re the little things, that every opportunity you get to play in a green jersey when you’re my age, that you know it could be last.
"It could be your last of that fixture. I hope it’s not my last in the Stade de France because there’s some pretty important World Cup games there that I’d love to be a part of, so hopefully it’s not my last one in that stadium."
The Leinster out-half is, of course, referring to the battle for the Webb Ellis trophy, during which Sexton will be 38 years old.
Should Ireland emerge from a pool containing South Africa and Scotland (both games will be played in Stade de France) then there’s a possible quarter-final meeting with France on the cards at the same venue, which will also host the semi-finals and final.
If the body remains willing, there is no doubt what the heart and mind are telling him.
"That’s what I tried to do during the game, was to try and soak in the atmosphere, feel what it’s like in the stadium and use it as motivation to get there," he added.
"But also to remember what it’s like so that if we do go back, potentially we’ve got two pool games, a potential quarter-final, potential semi-final and final all in that stadium.
"So I tried to soak in as much of it as I could.
"You learn as much watching. You don’t want to watch and learn but you do.
"Being in the dressing room and listening to what people say. You go: 'If I was there, maybe I’d say this’ and wonder whether that would have been the right thing.
"You’re always thinking and always trying to improve, even when you’re not playing.
"Obviously, we’ve got Italy this week at home which is a very different game but then you fast forward to a week later against England and you are back in that cauldron again – away game, full crowd, so there’s lots of learnings to take into this team’s journey that we need to learn."
Part of Sexton’s journey from here on in will have a Joey Carbery soundtrack in the background.
He would have grown up watching Ronan O’Gara take over from David Humphreys and then usurped the Munster man in own right following his debut in 2009.
On the rivalry, which has moved to a new level after Carbery’s performance on his first Six Nations start against France, Sexton said: "Joey is his own man, you know, we’d be different people, of course.
"But that is not to say one is right and one is wrong. You probably want different characters at 10 coming through.
"You know we need more competition.
"To go to a World Cup, you need three, four guys in every position and that is what we are striving for.
"And Joey, as I’ve said previously, had Japan and America in the summer and then Argentina in November and then France and off the bench against Wales so he is racking up those Test matches and building on them and improving and doing well.
"That’s exactly what we need."
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