'Don’t assume you’re on the plane' - Devin Toner's advice for Ireland's World Cup hopefuls

Four years on, he can smile wryly at the memory which is firmly part of his past. He says he has “no regrets” about his stellar rugby career and whatever hurt was inflicted by Joe Schmidt’s bombshell decision to leave him out of the 2019 squad has long since eased.

He’s retired a year ago and content with his lot.

Rugby brought him great honours and better days, but he was ready for civilian life and enjoys the perks of having his weekends back.

Still, he’s firmly connected to the game and took a look at the 42 names announced by Andy Farrell on Tuesday.

​And, while some might have celebrated the achievement, Toner knows that their work is only just beginning.

“The competition is ridiculous,” Leinster’s most capped player of all time said. “My advice would be to not take anything for granted, don’t assume you’re on the plane.

“I didn’t assume I was, but I thought I was. I’d a fair idea I was. I don’t know, maybe I could have done more in the warm-up games, maybe I have held back a bit because you don’t want to get injured, but I’d just say to lads don’t hold back in the games, show people what you can do.

“Lads are going to take their time off, but they’ll take care of themselves because it’s so big in your career and such a huge opportunity. You need to focus down on it.

“One thing is they announced the extended squad, but there’s going to be a lot of lads missing out when it gets to the final squad. A lot of tough decisions for Faz to make and a lot of lads who will get that phone call to say they’re not going.”

Yesterday’s Aviva ‘Pride’ launch brought Toner back to the scene of Leinster’s final defeat to La Rochelle, a game he attended as a fan.

A four-time winner of the Champions Cup, he was devastated for his former team-mates but believes they are not far away and will benefit from the fresh voice of Jacques Nienaber who comes in next season as senior coach.

“Hugely disappointing. It’s hard to pinpoint what went wrong, that try before half-time that we leaked was important, then after half-time we didn’t have the ball,” he said of the epic loss.

“I’d a fair few pints at that stage, but it was hugely disappointing. They got confidence as they scored points, got a foothold in the game.

“It’s just hugely disappointing for Stuart Lancaster and the boys who are leaving.

“You could see the entire year, pretty much going unbeaten for the entire year and they lost by a point. That’s sport, they’re not going to have to change much at all. There’s not huge changes needed.

“It will be a new environment with Nienaber in, Lancaster and Johnny (Sexton) gone … they’re still going to be class players and class coaches.”

As for his own career, he’s happy to have transitioned into life as a fan; working a normal day-job as the head of partnerships for Fairstone Group, he has assimilated into life after rugby well.

“When you go to the game, see the Grand Slam game and the Champions Cup final with the big hits, they’re the ones you miss,” he said.

“You miss the environment, going in and seeing 40 of your mates every day. Being in an office is a lot different to being in a changing-room, the craic is a bit different!

“I don’t have any regrets from my career at all, looking back on the medals and stuff I have it’s quite nostalgic. I’m quite proud of the amount I achieved. I recently went through all the jerseys I swapped over the years and seeing them was brilliant, it’s great to be able to look back on everything I’ve achieved.”