The finish line is within sight for Wallabies and NSW Waratahs stalwart Dean Mumm, but first his career will come full circle..
On Wednesday 33-year-old Mumm announced he would retire at the end of this year.
Just over 24 hours later he will begin what looms as his final trip overseas in Waratahs colours, a season-shaping two-match stand in New Zealand, the country of his birth.
In recent times the Waratahs have rarely played back-to-back matches in the same country overseas and had to spend more than a handful of days outside Australia.
Mumm honed his craft and served his Waratahs apprenticeship on development tours of Argentina (2004), eastern Europe (2005) and the United Kingdom (2006) before earning his first Super cap in 2007.
Several of his younger Waratah colleagues never had that opportunity and were thrown straight into the Super Rugby cauldron.
"I felt pretty fortunate that I got to on some of those tours, they were so formative," Mumm told AAP.
"It was a really great introduction to the next level."
Mumm feels time together in New Zealand will be beneficial for the Tahs at such a critical part of their campaign, as well as giving him one last chance to tour with the team.
"I feel pretty lucky to get it at the back end of my career as well as the start," Mumm said.
"Spending more time together is ultimately going to help you in your ability to get a little bit tighter, so it's great."
Mumm's decision to finish up this season was no surprise to his teammates or coach Daryl Gibson.
"I spoke to to Daryl about it last year and he knew that this was my last year and so have all the boys, I haven't been hiding it from anyone," he said.
Post-rugby, Mumm will spend part of next year walking around 160kms to the North Pole to raise awareness of and funds for Borne, a charity doing research into the causes of premature birth.
"It's going to take about nine days on the ice, but 16 days all up'for training," Mumm said.
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