'This is probably the last year' - Cian Healy closing in on Brian O'Driscoll's Irish record but admits end is near

Had an injury not cruelly wrecked his 2023 World Cup dreams, he'd likely have already passed the great centre's total of 133 caps, but the 36-year-old isn't driven by the number of caps matches but rather the accumulation of medals.

There is an itch I want to scratch there and it's not so much about going past 'Drico', it's about winning and achieving things with groups of people.

If you mentally give in to those aches and start taking Mondays off training, and doing that, that's not what I'm about, so I don't think it has that effect on me.

I enjoy the challenge of getting around sore knees and a stiff back, and getting through a training session and playing my part.

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