Austin Healey was predicting a 23-point England win over Ireland. Brian O’Driscoll hauled him up on it but he wasn’t for backing down.
Healey has always been the pantomime villain and retiring from professional rugby has done little to quell his showman-like urges.
He was at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening and witnessed an Irish performance of passion, intent and cutting edge as they turned over Eddie Jones’ men. In fairness to Healey, he was nothing but gracious in defeat.
Speaking at the Aviva Fan Studio, following Ireland’s 13-9 victory, the former Leicester and England star likened the game to his trips over to Ireland to play schoolboy and underage rugby, where ‘you’d get the absolute, living sh*t kicked out of you on the field’.
David Wallace, who joined Healey in the studio, described Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony as “immense” and ‘the stand-out man of the match’. It was a view that was roundly agreed upon, with O’Mahony topping the tackle count, dominating lineouts and hitting rucks with vigour.
Credit: RTE
The former Munster and Ireland proclaimed O’Mahony was ‘front and centre’ for the Lions Tour to New Zealand and Healey agreed. He said:
“I think O’Mahony will be the midweek captain.
“I don’t think he’ll be in the Test team. I don’t think he’ll be in the Test back row against the All Blacks; maybe on the bench.
“I think he’ll be a little bit like Dai Young was in 2001 [in Australia]. He’s the sort of guy that carries the tour and keeps those guys going week after week after week. Because it’s hard when you’re in the second team on a Lions tour. You can lose focus, particularly when you are in England.”
A place on the Lions tour would be rich reward for O’Mahony in a season where he has proved a real leader at Munster through the loss of coach Anthony Foley, and where he has been selfless and determined for the Irish cause.
Healey’s views are shared by many rugby reporters in Ireland, and abroad:
"Bloody good player"https://t.co/1ZyimNudQx
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 19, 2017
Another towering performance in the Champions Cup, against Toulouse, could yet seal the Munster captain a place on the summer tour to ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud.
