True Irish grit.
Andy Farrell demanded it. Peter O’Mahony delivered.
With Leinster producing two European-class back row starlets a season, the pressure is on the likes of O’Mahony and CJ Stander. They are great players but sometimes, in the red of Munster, the burden weighs too heavily. Johann Van Graan has dipped into his motherland to get two World Cup winners to Limerick this summer.
O’Mahony and Stander could do with the cavalry. Their shoulders have been pressed to the wheel for an age so it is no surprise to see them wearied and outgunned in some matches. They were not the only Irish players blown away by the All Blacks at the World Cup but that does not reduce the sting.
With Munster struggling in Europe and merely getting by in the Guinness PRO14, the likes of O’Mahony, Stander and Conor Murray went into this championship under heavy scrutiny. Leinster and Ulster are the country’s two top provinces, this season, and the trio of Caelan Doris, Max Deegan and John Cooney are all pushing for big Guinness Six Nations involvements.
New head coach Andy Farrell kept faith in Murray and Stander, who was shifted back to blindside. O’Mahony made way for Doris but kept Deegan off the replacements bench.
After 90 seconds, starting Doris looked wise. The Leinster back-row showed great strength and technique to effect a turnover at the breakdown.
After four minutes, O’Mahony had replaced him. A grim, accidental clash of heads had sparked Doris and though he went for a Head Injury Assessment he was never going to return. O’Mahony entered the fray and got to work.
Ireland were far from their best [let’s say, for example, their 2018 best] but many of their forwards were up for the fight and were winning mini battles to stave off Scottish attacks. Following his side’s 19-12 victory, Andy Farrell said:
“Our performance was summed up in the last five minutes we asked the lads to stand for something this week and you could easily see the true Irish grit.
“There were guys out there not used to playing for so long but due to injuries were still tracking back in the final five minutes. The pack was magnificent.”
Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong did well in the loose but struggled at scrum-time. Rob Herring looked the part at hooker, James Ryan (17) was one shy of tackler leader Stander while Iain Henderson looked great for 55 minutes before flagging, and flogging on for 12 more. Josh van der Flier was a breakdown nuisance while he, Stander and O’Mahony combined for four crucial turnovers and 43 tackles.
O’Mahony was a pain the Scotland’s collective arse. Going in at blindside, with Stander switching to No.8, he poached two balls from Scottish rucks, masterfully slowed down ruck ball and put in some big shots inside his own 22 to stunt a couple of attacking darts. On the Munster captain, Farrell commented:
“You couldn’t have a better man. We were gutted for Caelan and so was Pete. You saw Pete go over to him straight away. He would have been gutted for him as well. But the know-how, the turnovers that he got… Pete was bleeding and he didn’t want to come off. We needed him out there, you see, with the injuries we had in the back row.
“It was really, really tricky. Iain Henderson was having to be told at half-time that if Dev Toner came on that he was going to go into the back row. Then Iain had spent his time doing the hard graft and his legs had gone a little bit. Then, all of a sudden, Josh van der Flier got a little bit of cramp. So it was backs to the wall type stuff for a while there and that’s why [the win] is so pleasing.”
Doris was ‘up and talking away’ in the Irish dressing room after the game but he will have to sit out much of the week’s training as he undergoes the Return To Play protocols. Deegan will come into the selection mix but O’Mahony has done all he can to start against the Grand Slam champions.
At full-time there was a sense of relief from the players and the Irish supporters. The team got a warm reception from fans before kick-off but that chastening World Cup exit is still fresh in the memory. A win of any shade or size was the priority.
That probably explains O’Mahony’s response (below) when he was asked by ITV’s Martin Bayfield about Ireland’s “stuttering” performance.
https://twitter.com/threeredkings/status/1223944666355204096
Sometimes Peter O’Mahony’s post-match interviews are almost as entertaining as his performances.
Wales are next and more Irish grit will be required. If they can improve their scrummaging and cut out silly penalties, they have every chance of making it two from two.
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Barry Murphy and Andrew Trimble are joined by Jerry Flannery, Eddie O’Sullivan and Ali Miller in Reardens, Cork as House of Rugby sets its sights on the 2020 Guinness Six Nations.
