Warren Gatland sympathised with Peter O’Mahony after dropping the axe on the Ireland international.
It seemed as if the writing was on the wall for O’Mahony from the moment the final whistle blew at Eden Park.
Before that even. After 53 minutes, 13 tackles, lineout dominance but few moments of driving New Zealand back, O’Mahony was replaced in the First Test by Sam Warburton.
Before that again. There was never a sense that O’Mahony was locked in for the entire series. Even as we lauded his fully deserved honour of leading the Lions, we wrote:
‘O’Mahony will be well aware that this is far from a permanent gig. The Lions will have to win or go mighty close to it to prevent any changes for the next Test in Wellington.’
Rhys Webb’s late try may have suggested the Lions were good enough to be as close as 15 points on the final score-sheet. Those that witnessed the awesome brutality and directness of the All Blacks will tell you they were streets apart.
Gatland feels as though they lost the fight and it must gall O’Mahony that, of all bloody things, he is getting dropped for that one, particular reason and with the chance for revenge so close at hand. The ‘Munster mongrel’ will have to watch from the stands.
After making three changes to his starting XV, Gatland commented:
“Maro Itoje will bring an edge and a physicality, as will Sam Warburton in terms of pressure on the ball.
“It’s tough on Peter O’Mahony who has done a brilliant job for us. We had to look at the bench and we felt that CJ Stander’s ball-carrying and defence was the right choice for the bench. You have to make the tough calls and pick what is the right team and the right combinations for a Test match.”
“There were lots of positives from the First Test,” Gatland added, “but we were disappointed that we put ourselves in a position to put the All Blacks under pressure and to get back into the game and we let it slip.
“This is a big chance for these players to go out and show what they are capable of on Saturday night. For the players retained from the first Test it’s an opportunity for them to step up and to show an improvement.”
There is no doubt in our mind that O’Mahony would have improved, and hugely so, at The Cake Tin but one bad game has cost him dearly.
We hope the honour of captaining the Lions and a week where everything was possible will be a memory the Cork native treasures forever. In the years to come, it will. In the weeks to come, he will curse how he let it all slip.
In the short-term, though, he cares only about the Lions and backing up his teammates.
In the bowels of Eden Park, last Saturday, CJ Stander reserved an extra-large slap on the back for O’Mahony as he led his Lions team towards the tunnel and onto the pitch.
This Saturday it will be O’Mahony’s turn to give out the encouragement to Stander, Warburton and the other lucky ones going into battle.
He won’t be found wanting.
