"It's very important for me to concentrate on such two big tests this weekend and obviously the following weekend with Leicester but I'm hoping to have it wrapped up one way or the other regardless by the New Year."
One way or another Peter O'Mahony's future will be decided very soon as the Munster captain said at a press conference today.
And as he explained, his own priorities at present are to help his province overcome Leicester Tigers over two games in their European Rugby Champions Cup game at the weekend.
Those ties comes 10 years on from when Leicester came to Thomond Park and ended a 12 season unbeaten home record (26 wins in a row) in the Heineken Cup for the then reigning European champions Munster.
By that stage, ex-Munster second row Donncha O'Callaghan felt the record had become a heavy load to bear as he and ex-Leinster and Ireland flanker Shane Jennings, who was playing for Leicester between 2005 and 2007, joined us on Monday Night Rugby.
"I'll be honest with you, Joe, the record was actually like a burden, I promise you. Bar losing that match, you were kind of glad it was gone," he admitted of that last match at the old version of the stadium.
"You nearly got to the point where you preferred playing away because every time it was on the line. It just became a massive monkey on your back every time you went out."
General view of a lineout in the rain ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Remembering how Leicester were so composed that night and being fully deserving of the win, he recalled the sense of shock in the Munster dressing room as an opposing European side finally emerged victorious at Thomond Park.
"I swear it was proper shock. I couldn't nearly even take it in and I wasn't being disrespectful because it wasn't like you went out and played poorly. It was just, it was like nearly a feeling of 'this shouldn't happen, what went on here?' And that was the dressing room, it was completely honest."
He added that they had "zero complaint because [Leicester] were better."
