Peter O’Mahony savoured the “best feeling in the world” as he left question marks hanging over his international future after leading Ireland to Guinness Six Nations glory.

Andy Farrell’s men ignited the St Patrick’s weekend party by retaining the title thanks to a a nervy 17-13 success over Scotland in Dublin.

Reports emerged before the game that captain O’Mahony was set to call time on his international career following a 105th and final outing in the green jersey.

The 34-year-old, who lifted the championship trophy with Tadhg Furlong, is “still loving” life at Test level but concedes he has a big decision to make.

“I won’t be making any decisions over the next few days,” he said. “But next week we’ll have to have a chat.

“I’m still loving it. This part of it is the best feeling in the world and that’s the part you chase.

“But you have to have a proper chat and be realistic.

“If it was my last one, it wasn’t a bad one to go out on. I can hang the jersey in a good place, if it was. But I’ll have that chat next week.

“It means the world to me (playing for Ireland).

“It’s a special thing to be picked for your country and you’ve got to treat it with the utmost respect.”

Tries from Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter, plus seven points from Jack Crowley, helped Ireland bounce back from having their dream of back-to-back Grand Slams dashed by England last weekend.

Veteran Munster flanker O’Mahony overcame pre-match nerves to claim the fifth – and most satisfying – Six Nations title of a Test career which began in 2012.

He opted to share the trophy lift with Furlong following the death of the Leinster prop’s father James in December.

“It was a nice moment for him and his family and I thought it was appropriate –  he’s had a tough, tough few months,” said O’Mahony.

“I think this was probably the most special (of the five titles).

“We didn’t want to lose last week. But we knew we needed to get back on the horse and put in a better performance and coming back home, championship on the line, the whole lot, it was an important game for us.

“I felt the pressure, I felt the nerves and I knew it needed to be a big day for us.

“I was saying to Andy (Farrell) on the way in there, it was a tough week and it was probably one of the toughest days nerves-wise beforehand.

“It 100 per cent has to be up there with one of the most special days of my career, if not the most.”

Head coach Farrell, whose side led just 7-6 at half-time, said: “That was a proper Test match.

“Scotland are a great side. I thought they were tenacious, I thought they were tough.

“I actually thought we played bloody well. We came out of the blocks in the second half, that was magnificent – the power, the pace we put into the game.”

Finn Russell believes Scotland must improve significantly from a mental perspective after their quest for a first Triple Crown since 1990 fell short against “probably the best team in the world”.

Fly-half Russell was encouraged by his country’s dogged display at the Aviva Stadium but was left to rue frustrating inconsistency which resulted in three tournament defeats from five fixtures.

Asked if Scotland are progressing or regressing, the co-captain replied: “Today we are progressing.

“That mentality we had today and that cohesiveness, especially in defence, was brilliant.

“But throughout the campaign we need to get mentally stronger. We need to get better and put in performances week in, week out.

“We’ve had spells in this competition that we’ve been brilliant but at the same time we’ve had spells where we’ve allowed teams to get on the front foot and get momentum.

“We are progressing and it’s tough only winning two games and saying we’re progressing but this campaign will make us better come the summer, then November and next season’s Six Nations.

“From a personal opinion, I think mentally we need to get a lot better and not drift at moments in the game.

“We need to be in every moment of the game and that’s a big work on for us.

“Today, we were there for probably 90 per cent of the game, just a couple of moments that allowed Ireland into it. And, probably the best team in the world, you can’t do that over here.”

Prop Tadhg Furlong believes Ireland have proven they can thrive under big-game pressure as they seek to avoid a shock Rugby World Cup exit.

Andy Farrell’s men have topped the world rankings for well over a year and won a national-record 16 Test matches in a row.

Yet the Six Nations champions are still in danger of flying home from France before the knockout stages heading in to Saturday evening’s decisive Pool B clash with Scotland in Paris.

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Leinster tighthead Furlong has helped his country beat each of their major rivals during the Farrell era and expects the team to once again deliver under the weight of expectation.

“I think it brings the best out of rugby players,” he said. “It shows your mentality, it shows what you are about, it shows what the group is about. It shows a lot.

“The proof is always in the pudding in terms of how the match goes, and how you deal with the pressure. It’s just about trying to get on.

“I think as a group, we are relatively experienced and we have a good understanding of how we work and how the team works and how to get the most out of the team in these big games.

“We have played in big games before. Now it’s just about trying to get your prep right and try to get your best performance out there.

“It’s (about) not being afraid of it, it’s about embracing it and getting on with it.”

Head coach Farrell will name his team for the Stade de France showdown on Thursday afternoon and is likely to make few, if any, changes following a 13-8 victory over South Africa on September 23.

A win or draw will send Ireland through as group winners ahead of the Springboks.

But success for Gregor Townsend’s side could see them snatch progression at the expense of their rivals, depending on the margin of victory and bonus points obtained.

Ireland have dominated recent meetings between the two nations, winning eight in a row and 12 of the last 13 across the last decade, including March’s 22-7 Six Nations triumph at Murrayfield.

Furlong feels Scotland represent a “ huge challenge” and a far tougher proposition than that match just under seven months ago when the Irish overcame a host of injury setbacks to keep themselves on course for the Grand Slam.

“Of course you look at the last game, you probably don’t look at the seven before that,” said the 30-year-old.

“Rugby is ever changing and evolving. They’re flying at the minute. I was really impressed with their warm-up games against France and have been really impressed with how they’ve performed in the tournament so far.

“I would imagine they’re disappointed with their South Africa performance (an 18-3 loss).

“They’ve come on a lot since the Six Nations, and they had a really good Six Nations.

“They were flying then as well. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us this weekend.”

Ireland will be without Jamison Gibson-Park, Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong for a huge Six Nations clash with France on Saturday.

Scrum-half Gibson-Park and prop Healy were late withdrawals from an opening 34-10 win over Wales at the weekend due to hamstring injuries.

The duo will not be fit in time for a showdown with defending champions France at the Aviva Stadium, while prop Furlong also misses out due to a calf issue that sidelined him for the victory at the Principality Stadium.

Conor Murray will be expected to retain the number nine shirt after coming into the side to replace Gibson-Park.

Captain Johnny Sexton, who suffered a dead leg in Cardiff, will complete the HIA process on Monday, while Ronan Kelleher is due to return to training this week.

Scrum-half Caolin Blade and loosehead prop Michael Milne have been called up to the squad, while Roman Salanoa and Tom Stewart will remain with the group after being drafted in last week. 

France started the defence of their title with a 29-24 win over Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

Tadhg Furlong has signed a new Irish Rugby Football Union contract until the end of the 2021-22 season.

The Ireland and Leinster prop had been linked with a move overseas but has decided to stay in his homeland.

Furlong has won 49 caps since making his Ireland debut in 2015 and was last week selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa, having also played in three Tests against New Zealand four years ago.

The 28-year-old lifted the European Rugby Champions Cup with Leinster in 2018 and has won five PRO12/14 titles, but a defeat to La Rochelle ended Leo Cullen's side's bid for European glory this year.

Furlong said: "Happy to sign on for one more year. There has been some tough days of late but I believe the squads we have in both Leinster and Ireland are able to compete for trophies in the future.

"I look forward to hopefully playing at a packed out RDS or Aviva Stadium in the months ahead."

David Nucifora, IRFU performance director, said: "Tadhg was a long time out of the game but showed upon his return in January what a positive influence he can be for both Ireland and Leinster.

"He has grown as a senior voice in the Ireland squad and his recent performances reminded everyone why he is rated as one of the best tightheads in world rugby."