Who is the Lions' first Test captain Peter O'Mahony?
The quiet Munsterman who, two years after suffering a career-threatening injury, will lead the tourists out to face the All Blacks at their Eden Park fortress on Saturday
Peter O’Mahony nearly did not make the touring squad.
But for Jamie Heaslip picking up an ankle injury two hours before Ireland’s Six Nations match against England in Dublin in March, he would have started that match on the bench. And this tour could have been very different.
But Heaslip was injured. And the 27-year-old O’Mahony put in the 80-minute performance of his Ireland career to date, tackling anything and everything in white; wreaking unholy havoc at the breakdown and set piece; stealing the ball from the vaunted English locks at the lineout; winning the man of the match award; denying Eddie Jones’s men a world record 19th consecutive win. In the process, he took his name from the bottom of Warren Gatland’s possibles list to near the top of his definites one.
Yet it is typical of the Munster man, of the hidden work he does from first whistle until last, that he barely features in the official Six Nations’ highlights reel of the game.
That is O’Mahony through and through. There will be no limelight stolen by this quiet Lions’ captain, who is not prone to unnecessary rhetoric. No wasted words where a gimlet stare will do. No job demanded of his charges that he wouldn’t do himself. No chance of a backward step taken. He is an opponent worthy of the All Blacks.
Do not doubt that O’Mahony is made of the right stuff. He has captained every side he has played for – including the Lions against the Maori last weekend, and Ireland in 2013 against USA and Canada. He has long been regarded as a long-term Ireland captain in waiting.
Leading the Lions out at Eden Park for the first Test against the All Blacks while tour captain Sam Warburton sits on the bench is another twist in an unusual two-year period that started in agony.
In October 2015, O’Mahony could have been forgiven for thinking his rugby career was over. He was stretchered off the pitch midway through the second half of the World Cup Pool D decider against France with an ACL injury. It was another match in which he had stepped up to leadership, after Paul O’Connell earlier left the pitch with what would be a career-ending injury.
He was out for a year. He returned to club action in October 2016, as a replacement in a routine Pro 12 match against Zebre. Two weeks later, Munster’s opening pool match of the Champions Cup at Racing 92 in Paris was postponed at the 11th hour following the death of coach Anthony Foley.
O’Mahony, the club captain, was the one who spoke to the press in the tragedy’s immediate aftermath. It hurt like hell, but he did stepped up again for his mentor.
Niggling injuries kept him out of the early November internationals, including that match against the All Blacks in Chicago, as well as the first two Six Nations matches of 2017. But, while his international career appeared to have stalled again – the bench appeared all he could hope for on his return to full fitness – he was leading Munster from the front to their best season in several years.
Their run to the Pro 12 final and the Champions Cup semi-finals will go down in history as a fitting memorial to their lost coach ‘Axel’ – but it was as much about the players’ and coaches’ response to the tragedy. They were led there, as in many other ways, from the front by O’Mahony.
It’s no surprise that his rugby mindset has Foley at its centre. He grew up watching Axel play in the Munster side of the early noughties. And he was part of the province’s age-grade set-up when Foley began coaching.
As well as Foley, he has been shaped by O’Connell, Donncha O’Callaghan and Doug Howlett at Munster, and Brian O’Driscoll with Ireland. But there can be no doubt he is his own man.
Lions’ forwards coach Graham Rowntree said he believes O’Mahony carries the leadership DNA of that Munster legend Paul O’Connell; and former clubmate and two-time Lion Donncha O’Callaghan is on record as saying that he believes O’Mahony can is a match Martin Johnson in the scary no-word stare stakes. That’s not a bad combination for a Lions’ captain to have when facing the challenge of the All Blacks.
It helps, too, that he also brings that additional lineout presence, ferocious tackling, much-better-than-decent ball-handling, and an engine that can run for 80-plus minutes.
As former Lion Will Greenwood said at the end of the 2015 Six Nations: “If all the wild horsemen of the apocalypse came around the corner, O’Mahony would charge straight back at them.”
What Greenwood didn’t say then, true though it probably is – and what the captain will demand on Saturday – is that the rest of the team follow him.
Thing is, they will.
Comments on RugbyPass
Sometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to comments