Paul O'Connell has confirmed that he will end his Ireland career after this year's World Cup.

The Ireland captain is set to join French club Toulon at the end of the tournament after negotiating an early release from his contract with the IRFU and Munster.

There was some suggestion that the veteran second-row would be persuaded to continue playing at Test level while playing his club rugby in the south of France, but O'Connell has confirmed that will not be the case.

"The World Cup will certainly be the end of my Irish rugby career," he said.

Meanwhile, Simon Zebo has given Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt an injury scare ahead of the World Cup warm-up matches after the winger limped out of training today in Galway with a knee injury.