IN TO HIS 13th season, only a bout of bad luck will slow Connacht captain John Muldoon now.

The Galway native, branded ‘The Ultimate Connacht Man’ by head coach Pat Lam last season, has less than 12 months to run on his existing contract. But at 32, retirement considerations remain a non-starter.

“Pat actually told me last year he was going to look after me: ‘Oh, we won’t be playing you as much.’ And then I played 29 out of 30 games. So we’ll see how that goes this year.”

Muldoon’s own mind and body will decide when to hang up the boots, but checking in with others on that track never hurts.

On the contrary in fact. Though Muldoon and last year’s captain of Pro12 champions Glasgow Warriors were born just 17 months apart, he found their perspective on rugby worlds apart.

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“I was talking to Ali Kellock towards the end of last year and he was saying he wasn’t enjoying it any more. The body had had enough and he couldn’t wait for the season to finish.