Liam Toland nearly retired from rugby in 1997 - not wholly of his own volition, yet it was the young Limerick man with whom the decision rested. Playing an All Ireland League match for Old Crescent against Shannon, he was third or fourth to arrive at the ruck and was bridging over the bodies when he received an almighty shunt.

The impact forced two vertebrae in his neck together, compressing the disc in between, forcing it to crack and release the liquid from inside: it was an injury that came within millimetres of having even greater ramifications. He was faced with two surgical options and chose the second, which meant scraping out the contents to the disc. "There was no longer a threat if it was in a bucket." Toland had decided to have the surgery so that he could continue his career in the army. A lieutenant in the Second Cavalry squadron, a member of the Presidential Escort and a motorbike instructor to boot, he wanted the ability to maintain an active career. The least of his concerns was rugby, having all but accepted retirement.

He explained the initial discomfort: "On the Monday after the Saturday game I woke up in tremendous pain. The only way I can equate it is a dentist tapping on a raw nerve. I listened to the 2FM news on the hour, every hour, every night for two weeks. I couldn't sleep. Gradually the pins and needles down my arm went away and I was able to have surgery."

His decision to consider rugby again was copper-fastened by a chance meeting with the then Ireland team manager Donal Lenihan in the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick. Lenihan had suffered the exact same injury and had come back to play three international seasons with Ireland. Soon Toland was hankering after a return.

Thankfully, the injury was a mere interval in his rugby career. A Triple Crown winner at Schools level, on the first Irish team to do so, he enjoyed two and a half years on the Ireland Under-21 team but it was his debut for Ireland "A" against Wales at Rodney Parade in 1993, that exemplified his potential.

Toland describes it as "probably the best game of my life." He was sensational, tremendous pace, great support play and a huge tackle count. He would go on to win four straight caps at that level, travel on the Development tour of Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa but crucially, he couldn't command a place on the Munster team.

"(David) Corkery and (Eddie) Halvey were internationals at the time and the Munster selectors wanted to play their international players in the back row. It was understandable."

Three seasons with Munster which included a neck injury, a broken leg and then the more debilitating neck problem brought Toland to the second half of his career. In returning to work and the Second Cavalry squadron, Toland moved to Dublin, leaving Old Crescent, a club he had joined as a 10-year-old, and headed for Lansdowne.

The then Leinster coach Mike Ruddock kept an eye on his progress and last season awarded Toland a contract and subsequently the captaincy. Intelligent and a good reader of the game, he was an obvious choice; but a Munster man leading Leinster? "I don't think there were too many objections.

"Having said that I believe that the role of captain is overplayed . . . I would prefer to see that through teamwork leaders emerge through their own volition." On Saturday, Toland will lead Leinster against Northampton in Franklin's Gardens. Victory over Biarritz has kick-started the province's season. He is adamant that Leinster are a few tweaks away from being masters of their own destiny.

On a personal level, Toland the elder bears no resemblance to his Munster incarnation. "I have evolved into something different. I want to be one of the five first names on Matt's (Williams) team sheet every week. I want to be indispensable because of the quality of my rugby. If I can put five or six excellent games together for Leinster then the knock-on effect might enhance my prospects of a cap.

"Do I want a cap? Sure. But I am not mapped at the moment. I have to prove myself worthy on the pitch. At the moment my sole focus is on trying to win something with Leinster. If I could achieve that, playing well, then maybe some day I'll be able to stand in the Stade de France and listen to them sing the Marseillaise."