Ireland captain Paul O'Connell says coaching may be an option for him to go into when he decides to retire from rugby.
Off The Ball's Ger Gilroy caught up with the second row who won the Newstalk Supporters Player of the Year at last night's IRUPA awards and the two discussed O'Connell's retirement plans and life after rugby.
In terms of coaching, the 35-year-old said it was one of the areas he would consider, although balancing that with family commitments is of paramount importance.
"I definitely have an interest in it. It's not my only interest of what I want to do after I finish, but I see the amount of time Joe Schmidt spends and I'd imagine it's tough to have a young family and be very good at [coaching]. I see Anthony Foley the same. It's a really tough job and you'd love for it not to be your only option when you finish. You'd love to go into it for all the right reasons and then be able to strike a balance and have a nice family life as well," he said.
O'Connell is currently mulling over the prospect of retiring and admitted that it is a tough time.
"It's a difficult time, especially when you've been in it so long, trying to make that decision of what's the right thing to do and when's the right time to do it. It isn't an easy decision to make. You just want to be certain what to do," he said.
The three-time Six Nations winner also discussed the final weeks of Munster's season and the draw against Ulster.
"I found it tough the other day in the Ulster game. I'd only played once since the Scotland game," he said.
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