"It was one of the proudest moments of my career, " he admitted after the curtain fell on a 16-year professional career with a record 163 appearances for Ulster against Cardiff Blues in the Magners League last night.

"Katie and James have been so excited about it for the past 48 hours and it will be something they will always remember and something I will always remember."

It was a calf muscle tear which was to take a little bit of the gloss of what was an emotional evening for the former Irish international who still heads the Magners League top points accumulators table with 786 – with over 1,500 including all competitions.

But although he only got to play for eight minutes before limping out, he returned to the replacements area on crutches and spent over 20 minutes delighting fans, young and old, by signing whatever they thrust in front of him. It certainly did not spoil the night for David or his fans.

"I felt the muscle snap just after I make a tackle on Maamm Molitika and I knew that was it.

"Yes it was disappointing, but I knew all week that there was a chance it could happen.

For more on David Humphreys...
Blues fail to spoil night

A pictorial look back

Humphreys feared he would not make it

Fans' poll puts David top