The first time Jonny Wilkinson went out for drinks with his England team-mates he took himself off to see a doctor the next morning. He felt dizzy, had a headache and an insatiable thirst, and he could not understand why. After a quick examination, the doctor made his diagnosis. “Jonny, you wally,” he said, “you’ve got a hangover.” Perhaps Wilkinson allowed himself a drink or two on Saturday night, after he led Toulon to the Top 14 title in his final match as a professional player. He kicked four penalties and a drop goal in their 18-10 victory over Castres.

“I’ve spent half my life with a ball,” Wilkinson said. “It’s going to be a huge shock after rugby, but I’ll have a lot of good memories with the whole of the team here.” Playing in the Top 14, he explained, had “changed his life”. Wilkinson is loved in France. He is known to all as Sir Jonny and when the whistle blew fans from both Toulon and Castres stood and sang God Save the Queen in tribute to him. “This is what I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren,” said his team-mate Mathieu Bastareaud, “that I’ve played a with a great man.”

Brian O’Driscoll did not get the finish his career deserved. He injured a calf and left the field after just eight minutes of Leinster’s match against Glasgow in the Pro12 final. Leinster went on to win, 34-12. “I always said you can’t plan anything in this game, what happens, happens and you’ve got to roll with the punches,” O’Driscoll said. “It wasn’t a good day for me in the end, only getting eight minutes, but this” – he stopped, smiled, and gestured towards the celebrations going on all around him – “is what it is all about.”