One of the defining sights of Saturday's enthralling Munster win against Leinster came after, rather than during, the 16-15 URC semi-final victory.
Amid the celebrations of a famous Munster win, Keith Earls walked slowly around the Aviva Stadium with his three daughters, his youngest sitting on top of his shoulders, with the two others glued by his side.
Nothing has been confirmed, but it's likely that Saturday was the last time he'll play in the Munster jersey on Irish soil. Out of contract after the World Cup, the 35-year-old is expected to retire in the autumn, and was vague in response to a question after the game about whether his plans for retirement had been set in stone.
If this season is to be his last, he still has one more chapter to write, a URC final in Cape Town on 27 May for what will be his 202nd appearance for the province, while later this summer he'll hope to win two more Irish caps which will bring up his century.
A groin injury picked up on Munster's tour of South Africa in April appeared to rule him out for the rest of the season, only for his name to pop up as a welcome surprise on Friday afternoon's team-sheet. We thought his days in red were done, and as it turned out, so did he.
"It was genuinely over, but after a couple of days I started feeling a lot better," he said of the injury.
"Good physios, good doctors, good treatment, Graham and the lads looking after me in training and giving me every chance. I was delighted. It was risky but it was well worth the risk."
The Ireland international played the full 80 minutes of the 16-15 nail-biter, just his eighth game of a season that has been littered with niggling injuries.
It's 12 years since Munster last lifted silverware, and Earls is one of just a few players remaining in the squad from that 2011 Celtic League success, which also happened to be the last time they'd beaten Leinster in a knockout game.
"So, yeah, we're in a good place but it’s no good if we’ve nothing to show for it at the end of the season. It’s what we want."
And the veteran wing, who also won a Heineken Cup title in 2008, says Saturday's win against Leinster can't be the end point for this team.
"It was overwhelming at the end. I genuinely shed a tear," he added.
"You know, it's been a rough season for me personally. It's tough sitting out watching the lads and thankfully I got a shot this week.
"It means everything. I haven't won a trophy in 12 years with Munster, and that's something I want to do because there's only, I don't know how long left.
"We genuinely left a couple of scores out there today and we've got to take them in finals if we're going to win it but I think the big thing is recovery, enjoy the dressing-room with the lads, enjoy the review on Tuesday but we've got to switch fairly quickly to see how much we can really improve because we've got to travel there as well, so it's all about looking after our bodies and getting switched on.
"As Pete [O'Mahony] said inside, it can't be our final."
That sentiment was echoed by Munster boss Graham Rowntree, who believes they were well short of their best despite producing one of the shocks of the season to defeat the double-chasing Leinster.
"There's loads to improve on in our game. We'll look at our game, strip our game apart this week, have a good review and keep going with our game."
The final in Cape Town will be their third trip to South Africa in eight weeks, and their second meeting with the Stormers in just over a month.
The province kick-started their season with a 26-24 win against the defending champions back in April, but Rowntree says they'll need to be even better to get a result in the final.
"We'll be looking at how we broke them down and dealt with their power game, but they'll be better than that night. They'll be battle-hardened themselves, so it will be a real challenge for us, but we're in a final, we back the work we've done, we back our fitness.
"That will be our sixth away game on the bounce, it's unprecedented, and we'll enjoy it," he added.
Getting to the final has proven to be a real squad effort. In October, the province's resources were stretched thin with an unprecedented injury crisis, propelling academy players like Ruadhan Quinn and Edwin Edogbo into prominent roles, while John Ryan, Kiran McDonald and Oli Morris were all signed on emergency deals.
On Saturday, Munster were without Conor Murray, RG Snyman, Calvin Nash and Malakai Fekitoa after the quartet picked up head injuries in the quarter-final win against Glasgow.
And Earls (above) took time to name check some of the less heralded members of the squad.
"You mentioned Stevie [Archer] there, we were calling him '160 minutes Stevie', he put in 160 minutes down in South Africa, for a fella who is 35 years of age, the same age as myself," added Earls.
"Even the lads who haven't played, Calvin Nash has been leading the way all year, Mala [Fekitoa] was there as well.
"There's just so many in the group and I think it's the coaching, the way they're bringing on the lads. They’re not frightened to pick on form, to pick players, drop certain players, and it’s made this squad unbelievable competitive, and that’s what we want.
"There’s loads of fellas hurting in there as well who haven't been wearing a jersey today, but it genuinely is a massive squad effort all season with the fixtures we’ve had, travelling.
"Jean Kleyn is another fella who has been immense. Every Monday morning after a game he’s absolutely battered. But we truly are building a nice squad at the moment, a lot of young lads learning, a lot of good young lads who want to listen and who want to learn as well.
"So, yeah, we’re in a good place but it’s no good if we’ve nothing to show for it at the end of the season. It’s what we want."
