Bristol Bears did approach now retired Ireland captain Rory Best about one last hurrah.
Bears director of rugby Pat Lam offer the Ulster man a lucrative offer to ease the club's injury woes at hooker with Shaun Malton sidelined with a neck injury, leaving 21-year-old England U20s frontrower Will Capon as the primary cover behind first choice Harry Thacker.
As would have it academy product Capon has excelled since being given more of an opportunity, while Tom Lindsay and George Klosa providing further depth in the key position.
Best, now 37, was away in Brazil with the Barbarians when he was approached by both Bristol and a couple of French Top 14 clubs about extending his playing career.
Bristol and Lam certainly do have precedent having brought in George Smith at the age of 38 last season to bolster their backrow options.
Speaking to The Belfast Telegraph, he said: "Immediately post the World Cup, you're full of (thoughts like) 'I feel alright, I feel like I could keep playing and I want to keep playing.
"There was nothing really, and then Bristol came in and it was almost like a bit of a snowball effect. There were a couple of other options after that.
"I think if I was ever going to go anywhere, Bristol would probably have been the one.
"It was actually quite nice – you think you are done and then you get this option and you sort of go 'Maybe I am not completely done after all.'
"The thought of someone wanting you is quite a nice feeling whenever you are retired or about to retire."
One club man Best admitted he was more than tempted to link up with Connacht's PRO12-winning coach Pat Lam at Bristol having been a long time admirer of the Samoan. With a career in coaching one of his future avenues he acknowledged there is a lot he could learn from Lam who is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the world.
He said: "You look at Bristol and Pat Lam is someone who I admired as a player"
"I sort of used to be a Newcastle Falcons supporter, watching him there [in 1997], and then what he did at Connacht and what he is doing at Bristol.
"It's sort of something that you looked at (doing) if you ever wanted to get into coaching to learn, and to go from Joe (Schmidt) to him would be incredible.
"Obviously with John Afoa, Charles Piutau, Kevin Geary (head of strength of conditioning), the physio is from Ulster as well, Rory Murray, there are so many people.
"For a bit, you are kind of looking at it going 'This is an incredible opportunity.'
"I think in the end, I looked at it and went 'the family are ready to have me home.'
"When you tell the young kids something, that's it. It's hard to change. They are kind of going 'we want to be at home.'
"Ultimately, I wanted to be at home and that was really the long and short of it, as flattered as I was, and, as I said, if ever there was a club you would consider going to at the minute, with what they are doing, that's the team.”
