Tomás O'Leary announced earlier today that he's hanging up his boots, he joined Off The Ball and discussed the reasons behind the decision.
He said that as his career comes to close he's been allowed to, "Sit back and enjoy the good times."
The Corkman walks away with two Heineken Cup medals with Munster and a Grand Slam on his CV - but he said he spent his final years battling against limitations caused by a series of injuries.
After hitting top form in 2009 and securing a call-up to the Lions, he suffered a broken ankle days after he was selected for Warren Gatland's squad to take on South Africa.
“I had, I suppose a string of injuries. I suppose that from 2010 or 2011 my body wasn’t doing what I wanted it to so I suppose the last five or six years of my career were I suppose an adjustment for me in terms of - physically I wasn’t able to do what I used to be able to do in terms of I suppose speed and power and strength."
He left Munster to join London Irish in 2012 as he struggled to regain his form:
Leaving Munster was probably the best thing I could have done to accept it because with Munster it was so intense … you could never really get away from the hype or the build up for games, the reaction to games, so it was all encompassing. You could never get a break from it.
"With my lack of form and I suppose the few injuries - you’re a bit downbeat anyway. I chatted to my wife and we said, 'look, I think I need to get out of here.'"
He returned to Munster in 2015 and spent last season on loan to Montpellier.
In recent years O'Leary has become involved in a number of business ventures, including the launch of his watch line TOLD & Co.
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