Share
5th January 2023
12:06pm GMT
Peter O'Mahony pictured at an Aviva event, last November. Aviva partnered with Foodcloud in 2022. (©INPHO/Dan Sheridan)[/caption]
"I actually think, with Ireland especially, he's back playing, some of his best rugby! He'd obviously fight with a pillowcase, but he's kind of doing that and not upsetting anyone around him. He's picking his moments. "I mean he's absolutely fantastic at the breakdown... he's just so central – scrum, lineout, tactically. He's been in the captaincy role for Munster and Ireland, and I just think he's going to be pivotal, to be honest, in this upcoming year, for Munster and Ireland."During an interview with House of Rugby, back in November, the Cork native was asked what he felt his most important contributions to a team were. It is not unusual to leave a match raving about O'Mahony, only to see that his final statistics are not exactly what you would see from an Ardie Savea or Marcell Coetzee (two other class back-rows). O'Mahony told us:
"It's no secret that lineout is, obviously, hugely important. Winning ball, attacking mauls... maul defence is very important to me. "I'd have a good understanding of our defensive plan. For us, these days, you have to be all over most stuff. Andy [Farrell] has been big on getting us to understand our game and how we go about it. And I think that has unlocked things for me more - about going after you go after things, and understanding why a bit more. "It's a tough question to answer, to be honest with you. You've always got things that you try to implement as best you can, especially those things that you think are the reason you've been picked. Everyone has got that little niche or corner... everyone is picked for a reason. A lot of guys understand or know that reason why. You've got to realise, first and foremost, what you're good at. We've all got things were we know we might not be quite as good as other guys, but we've all got a reason why we are there and that has to be the thing that comes out first. That's what I always try to do."Lineout claims and disrupting the opposition throw. Winning ball for his side - restarts, rips or turnovers - and getting the mauls right. You may not see many line breaks, stack of offloads - although he is capable of the odd pearler - and he only has three Test tries in 73 outings but Peter O'Mahony knows what he is good at. The rest - like getting under the opposition's skin - well, that's just the gravy. Related articles:
Explore more on these topics:
