Don't go-you're great craic
If all else fails that might be one of the techniques the IRFU could resort to try and keep Paul O'Connell around the Ireland set up for a little while longer.
The Munster man is currently heading towards the final year of his IRFU contract, but speculation over the last number of months suggests that he could be set to quit after this autumn's Rugby World Cup.
Last night the Ireland captain picked up the IRUPA Players' Player of the Year Award, and speaking afterwards told reporters that any success in the coming months for either his province or in green will have no bearing on when he decides to hang up his boots,
'Winning or losing won't affect my decision.'
'Maybe you can make decisions in terms of picking up silverware but it is a dangerous way to go about making a decision.'
'I wouldn't base my decision on that. A whole lot of things go into it and winning trophies isn't one of them.'
'It is amazing to think what has been packed into that time. Sometimes you only remember the hard times. But when you put it in terms of achievements, you kind of go, 'Crikey, it was actually a great period'.
The 35-year old has been one of the country's most iconic rugby players of the last twenty years, but admitted that last night even his own longevity has surprised him. The Limerick native revealed that when he was a younger player he could never have imagined playing to the mid-way point of his thirties,
'I definitely didn't think I'd be on stage picking up an award like this at this time in my life. At 27 or 28, I definitely thought I'd be retired at 31 or 32, something like that. I never thought I'd be still here playing at this stage, never mind picking up this award.'
