Fearsome Filo determined to end his playing career on a high

FILO Tiatia, preparing for his final season as a player, has revealed his determination to go out with a bang, not a whimper.

The Ospreys' battering-ram back-rower will continue to make the transition into coaching that he started last season.

But as he contemplates the curtain falling on a marathon senior playing career that started back in 1989, the 38-year-old former All Black is intent on making his last term a campaign to remember.

''I'm going to make sure that I savour the experience and the fellowship of being a player as this time next year all I'll have left are memories,'' said Tiatia.

''I don't want to have any regrets or to be thinking that I didn't give it my all in the last year.

''I have 20 pre-seasons under my belt now, and this one will definitely be my last. I've always tried to enjoy it, but this year, this will be even more so as I want to make the most of every experience as a player before I finish. You're a long time retired.''