'It was overwhelming, I genuinely shed a tear' - Keith Earls

One of the defining sights of Saturday's enthralling Munster win against Leinster came after, rather than during, the 16-15 URC semi-final victory.

Amid the celebrations of a famous Munster win, Keith Earls walked slowly around the Aviva Stadium with his three daughters, his youngest sitting on top of his shoulders, with the two others glued by his side.

Nothing has been confirmed, but it's likely that Saturday was the last time he'll play in the Munster jersey on Irish soil. Out of contract after the World Cup, the 35-year-old is expected to retire in the autumn, and was vague in response to a question after the game about whether his plans for retirement had been set in stone.

If this season is to be his last, he still has one more chapter to write, a URC final in Cape Town on 27 May for what will be his 202nd appearance for the province, while later this summer he'll hope to win two more Irish caps which will bring up his century.

A groin injury picked up on Munster's tour of South Africa in April appeared to rule him out for the rest of the season, only for his name to pop up as a welcome surprise on Friday afternoon's team-sheet. We thought his days in red were done, and as it turned out, so did he.

"It was genuinely over, but after a couple of days I started feeling a lot better," he said of the injury.

"Good physios, good doctors, good treatment, Graham and the lads looking after me in training and giving me every chance. I was delighted. It was risky but it was well worth the risk."

The Ireland international played the full 80 minutes of the 16-15 nail-biter, just his eighth game of a season that has been littered with niggling injuries.

It's 12 years since Munster last lifted silverware, and Earls is one of just a few