Earlier today, Ireland captain Paul O'Connell revealed that he is 90 per cent sure about his retirement date and had consulted Brian O'Driscoll about the pros and cons of playing on for an extra year.

Tonight on Off The Ball, Liam Toland and The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley joined us to review the week's stories and both gave their take on the Munster lock's future.

Toland said: "If he plays on, will it be at international level or is at club level, because that is key for me. If his ambition is to play another season, remember France and England will be away from home in the next Six Nations makes that Six Nations particularly tough and he's not one to shy away from tough challenges. But the key question in that 10 per cent is if it's to play on or to play on for Ireland. Clearly, if he's going to play on, I'd fancy he'd stay in Ireland . If he wants to play on but not for Ireland, it might open the door to other opportunities for him."     

Gerry also added that Toulon had identified the second row as someone they would like to sign if the opportunity were to ever arrive, in order to get an "iconic European figure". But he also emphasised that O'Connell has not spoken to any French clubs and remains unlikely to make the move.

Carl Hayman of RC Toulon and Damien Chouly of ASM Clermont Auvergne ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

They both also looked ahead to Toulon and Clermont's Champions Cup final clash on Saturday, a fixture which is live on Off The Ball.

"I just hope Clermont win for the sake of the beautiful game that rugby can be. The worry for me is that Toulon have won so many fixtures in grinding down the opposition, as they did against Leinster in many ways," said Toland.