When many of his rugby contemporaries have retired, Peter Stringer will still be playing at the highest level past the time he turns 40 this December.
The Ireland and Munster legend signed a six month deal with English Premiership side Worcestor Warriors - where he'll link up with ex-international and provincial team-mate Donncha O'Callaghan - that will prolong his already lengthy career.
Tonight the scrum half joined us on Off The Ball to talk about how he has managed to remain evergreen and his decision to extend a career that has taken in a Grand Slam and Heineken Cups.
"It's a love of playing more so than Donncha," he joked.
"But it's certainly nice to be around again with him. Obviously he had a huge part to play in getting me over to Worcester and obviously having a huge amount of respect for him and what he's done and our history together. It made sense. He spoke very highly of the place and obviously had a great connection with Gary Gold the coach and a lot of the players as well, so it was a good fit."
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Since leaving Ireland permanently to move to Bath in 2013, Stringer added that he has been open to any opportunities that have become available which has meant that he has also taken in a spell at Sale Sharks prior to the Worcester move.
"I don't want to live with those regrets of if opportunities come up of just not being fit and not being ready. It's just the mentality I've had for the last few years, even on holidays, whatever comes up that I'm ready for it. This was no different. I was back in Ireland for a weeks in the summer and had a great time back home to catch up with friends and family and just wanted to keep playing," he explained.
"I had a couple of options but nothing, I was ready to make the move on. Obviously, we had a baby boy a few months ago so that obviously was a big factor in it as well and Worcester was a place where I saw a good fit for us moving over - we're living in Cheltenham - so it's not a bad spot either."
Stringer's longevity has become apparent as his career enters another decade of life and he spoke about the influence the arrival of Bryce Kavanagh as head of fitness at Munster back in 2011 had on him.
"Bryce came in and he called a lot of the senior guys into a room at the time and presented us with this little booklet, a bit of a manual he'd done up himself and called it 'Project Maldini' based on a former soccer player who continued playing on into his 40s. It was a book that laid out all the foundations of longevity in somebody's career," said Stringer, citing sleep patterns and preparation beyond training. He also noted how he modified his diet after a food intolerance test and discussed being teetotal throughout his life and career.
And he reiterated the point: "I just don't want to live with those regrets of not doing everything I can to be as fit as I can for as long as possible."
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