'Retirement was never going to be on the cards' for Devin Toner
BRIGHT FUTURE: Leinster’s Devin Toner wants to finish his career with as many medals in his back pocket as possible and figures LeInster is a great place to do that.
It looked for a while there like Devin Toner’s time at Leinster was drawing to a close.
The club has adopted the tradition of asking departing players to lift whatever trophy they might have won and so it was that Toner, Michael Bent and Scott Fardy who were tasked with raising the Guinness PRO14 silver aloft at the end of last month.
Bent and Fardy have since confirmed their intentions to retire from rugby once this season is complete but Toner will soldiers on, news of a new one-year deal dropping less than three weeks after that defeat of Munster in the RDS.
“I pretty much thought I was going as well, to be honest. And then thankfully it got sorted out.
"I'm not going to go too much into the ins and outs of it but I'm happy with where it ended up.
He won’t lie. There was a point when he thought it wouldn’t happen and that was a scary scenario.
He’s been 15 years with Leinster, it’s all he’s known as a professional, and he has a young family to think about as well.
His son will be walking through the gates of primary school in the near future and the Toners still have work to do on the house they bought recently. Would they just rent it out if work took him somewhere further afield? There was plenty to consider.
He admits that all options were on the table and there was the sense this week of a man who, though synonymous with his native province, hasn’t sealed off the thought that his career may yet involve a residency beyond Dublin.
“When it comes to next year I'm obviously going to re-evaluate,” he said when asked if being a one-club man was important to him. "If the body's still feeling well I will obviously see what all the options are. I'm never going to rule out playing somewhere else.
"I look at the likes of Donnacha Ryan and how well he's done in France and how well respected he is over there and he's obviously one or two years older than me. You take a look at Rob (Kearney) as well.
He doesn’t owe anyone anything at this point. Least of all himself. Toner had to show patience before breaking into the side with Leinster, and then with Ireland, but his rewards have been ample in that he has won everything aside from a World Cup. He could walk away from rugby at any time and leave with a CV that only a handful have compiled but the want for more remains. Ask him why he keeps on keeping on and the answer is straight to the point.
"Because I don't think I'm finished yet. You know, my body is feeling great, I think I'm playing well and I think I have more to offer. And we're still winning. I want to finish my career with as many medals in my back pocket as I can and this is a great environment to do it.”
Maybe it's his sheer longevity but it’s easy to perceive Toner as a player starting the final chapter of a long and glorious career. That's clearly at odds with the man’s perception of himself and the years to come.
It’s true that he’ll be 35 in June but he played alongside other second rows who kept on ticking long beyond the point where most call time. Nathan Hines was 39 when he pulled up. Brad Thorn had turned 40 when he last turned out.
The Meath man has no intention of taking his own journey quite that far but his sheer longevity and depth of influence in the second row at Leinster mean that his influence probably reaches much further than the likes of Thorn, Hines or Fardy.
“Oh I don't know. We'll see in three or four years’ time maybe, will they still be talking about me. I hope to be able to impart a little bit of knowledge, I suppose. And I hope young lads are learning on the way.
“When I was young it's not like I was sat down and told, 'This is how you do it.'
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