Paul O'Connell has ruled out following in the footsteps of former rugby teammates Tommy Bowe and Donncha O'Callaghan into breakfast broadcasting.
Since retiring from the sport, Tommy has joined the team on Virgin Media's Ireland AM while Donncha hosts 2FM Breakfast with Doireann Garrihy and Carl Mullan.
While Paul thinks it's incredible what his pals have gone on to achieve since leaving the sport behind, he doesn't see himself following a similar path, reports RSVP Live.
But the Munster legend is still a familar face on our TV screens when it comes to providing punditry on rugby matches.
He told RSVP Magazine: "It’s never something I have given thought to and it’s not something I would have ever seen me or the lads doing when we were on the rugby team, so I have been really impressed by how well Donncha and Tommy are doing these days.
"I suppose Donncha started on Game On [2FM’s sport show], and he was excellent at talking about something he was passionate about every day, so that probably made moving to the breakfast show an easier transition for him. But I don’t think it would be for me.
"I really enjoy punditry and commentary, figuring out what a team is trying to do and then trying to simplify that in a way that the ordinary viewer can understand it."
As well as Tommy and Donncha, Paul is still great friends with former teammtes like Brian O'Driscoll, Peter Stringer and Jamie Heaslip.
The sports stars all keep in touch with each other as much as they can, even though their careers have taken them in different directions since retiring.
Paul explained: "Once you retire, you actually get added to a WhatsApp group, which is a great way to stay in contact. It’s getting bigger and bigger now!
"We try to meet up whenever we can. A few of us might meet up at different games, or to play a bit of golf or whatever.
"They were great friendships we made, but since retiring we all live in different parts of the world. Some of the guys are in Dublin, others in Cork, Limerick, and even abroad, so we probably don’t meet up as much as we could or as much as we would like to.
"But we do stay connected through that WhatsApp group, and we will catch up once or twice a year at a match so it’s all good."
Paul called time on rugby six years ago and now lives in Castletroy, Limerick, with wife Emily and their three children Paddy, Lola and Felix.
While he has pursued different work opportunities and projects since his retirement, rugby is still his number one love and he admits that he misses being on the pitch.
He said: "I'm enjoying retirement a lot and I'm lucky that I’ve had some amazing opportunities and things that I've been able to do, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss playing rugby.
"I really enjoyed everything about it - not only playing and training, but all of the meetings, arguments, discussions and debates that went on behind the scenes when we were preparing for big matches.
"I loved being part of a team because there was a mixture of personalities but we all had the same love of the sport."
As much as he misses playing the game, Paul counts his lucky stars for having such a fulfilling career and he is still involved with coaching and analysis.
"I've been kept very busy since and I'm involved in a whole host of things - coaching, commentary, punditry and I've worked with various brands as well," he added.
"I was very lucky in that I turned professional at 21 and retired when I was 36. I really do miss playing but you have to move on, it's part of life."
Read the full interview with Paul in this month's issue of RSVP Magazine - on shelves nationwide now.
