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
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments