Although it was April when Scott Fardy publicly announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, it was a decision he had made privately some 18 months ago.

The veteran Australian will bring the curtain down on his illustrious career at the RDS tomorrow night, and he will do so as one of the finest foreign imports in Irish rugby.

The 36-year-old has been a constant driver of standards throughout his four years at Leinster, particularly during the international windows when the front-liners were away.

On the pitch, Fardy led by example, while off it, he has played a key role in helping the development of the likes of James Ryan and Ryan Baird.

A coaching career beckons for the 39-times capped Wallaby, as he looks to impart the knowledge he learned along his journey which took him to Japan in between spells with Western Force and the Brumbies.

Fardy had thought about calling it a day much sooner, only for Leo Cullen to convince the versatile lock to play on for another season.

“I was contemplating it last year, but I thought I would keep going here because I was enjoying it and was enjoying every day I came into Leinster,” Fardy says.

“I never wake up and don’t want to come in. I think everyday I spring out of bed, well I don’t know if I spring out of bed, I’m pretty old, but I get out of bed ready to go, ready to come in. I have enjoyed every day here. There haven’t really been any tough days here for me.

“You don’t want to get to the point where your body can’t do anything when you stop playing and I’m still at a point now where I’ll be able to play golf and run with the kids and do things like that.

“I didn’t want to get to a point where I just completely destroyed the body and the game is getting more and more physical. It starts to take a toll.”

Retiring on his own terms has been a big part of Fardy’s decision-making process, especially when he considers the direction the game is moving.

He has seen many changes throughout his time in professional rugby, but the move towards a bigger emphasis on size concerns Fardy.

“I think one of the big things about the game is there are more and more athletes in the game and bigger bodies,” he maintains.

“And the ball-in-play time is starting to diminish, especially in the north (northern hemisphere) with the way people are lying down for injuries and things like that.

“The game is slowing down, and it’s getting quite ridiculous, because it just allows those bigger and bigger players to manage their way through 80 minutes, then obviously with substitutions and things like that.

“It’s become less of an endurance game and more of a power game over the last five years especially. With the bigger bodies, the game is getting more and more physical and I think that’s just the direction it’s going.

“I’d definitely like to see that change. I think with the people staying down for injuries, I don’t think we need to stop. Obviously if a guy has got a concussion, we stop, but if they’ve got an injury just walk to the sideline and get treated, and if you want to come back on you come back on.

“But I don’t see the value in stopping the game. You look at the (Glasgow) game on the weekend, it was two-hours long. People lose interest after a certain amount of time. The games are going on for way too long at the moment, with things like TMOs and all that stuff, people just switch off.”

Fardy doesn’t make those strong comments as a man about to walk away from the game. Instead, he hopes to launch a career in coaching.

“I’ll head back to Australia in the short term. I’m making plans at the moment so there should be something out,” he adds. “I’m trying to get some coaching role sorted but all in the future. I think if you’re a coach you’ve got to go straight into it.

“It’s something that I think I’ve learned a lot here off such great coaches I’ve had here in my time at Leinster and back in Australia. So I’m grateful for the guys I’ve worked under and hopefully I can learn from my experiences in the game.”

The return of 1,200 Leinster supporters will at least give the departing players, including Fardy, a fond farewell after the Dragons game at the RDS tomorrow night.

Fardy will bow out safe in the knowledge that he has left a lasting legacy at Leinster.