Veteran prop WP Nel admits he is considering his future as he prepares to make his 200th appearance for Edinburgh this weekend.
Nel turns 38 next month and did not feature for Scotland during the Six Nations, with Elliot Millar-Mills and Javan Sebastian preferred as back-up to Zander Fagerson.
Edinburgh boss Sean Everitt said a neck injury had caused some concern during the championship.
Now Nel has given the strongest indication yet that he may be considering calling time on his career.
He said: “My neck did play up a bit and after the World Cup I thought I wouldn’t be mentioned to be back in the Six Nations.”
He admitted it was tough watching Scotland, adding he has spoken about his future with Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, though wouldn’t go into the detail of those talks.
Nel added: "We had some discussions, even through the Six Nations, about how things look for the future. That’s still something that will need to develop.
“My contract ends at the end of the season so there’s stuff that we need to discuss."
Nel previously contemplated retirement in 2016 after issues with his neck. If he does decide to walk away when his contract expires at the season’s end, he says he’ll leave rugby a happy man.
He added: "With my neck, there have been issues, and I’m not 26 or 28 anymore so that’s something I think about. If it’s fine and I can carry on, maybe; if not I’m happy to stop as well.
“There’s nothing difficult to make the decision to end. I’ve done more than enough. I’ve achieved over and above what I ever thought I would. [If I had] to make the decision tomorrow I would. It’s not something I thought about."
If his future is not with Edinburgh, Nel said he would rather retire than play for another club.
“I’ve never seen me as someone who played with another club, so if I’m done I’d just finish with Edinburgh,” he said.
READ MORE: Sean Everitt details Edinburgh's challenges in South Africa
He has turned his hand to coaching, having worked with Watsonians Super Series squad previously. As a veteran of almost 300 professional games, Nel is keen to pass on his experience once he does call time on his playing days.
He added: “I would love to give my experience that I gained over 18 years.
“I’d love to work with younger kids and give that experience back to them.”
Nel is back in his native South Africa and could make his 200th appearance for Edinburgh against The Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
If he does, he’ll become just the third player in Edinburgh’s history to surpass 200 games for the club, alongside Chris Paterson and Allan Jacobsen.
“It’s special,” Nel said in a rare interview.
“If it comes this weekend it would be pretty special. I wouldn’t have thought I’d play 100 games, so to play 200 is special. To do it here in Cape Town would be awesome.
“It’s not everyone who plays 200 games. To be part of this club for 12 years and get to 200 games, it’s definitely special. To be in that club with Mossy [Paterson] and Chunk [Jacobsen] is awesome.”
If the Edinburgh tighthead does make his landmark appearance this weekend, he could come up against old mate Brok Harris, who is still playing at nearly 40.
He’s someone Nel knows well from their time at Western Province more than a decade ago.
“We go back quite a while,” Nel said. “We were quite good friends and it would be awesome to go against him – two old men who would just take each other on.”
Nel knows Edinburgh will face a stern test despite Stormers occupying ninth place in the URC table after 11 rounds.
He said: "It will be definitely a different challenge, especially with where they are in the table as well. They’ll want to get a win and get up in the table. We need to be on top of our game this weekend.”
Read the rules here