It looked as if it would be a dead-cert try until the Corkman intervened.
Who would have thought the main talking point after beating Italy would be a try-saving tackle?
Peter O’Mahony’s snaffling of Josh Furno saved Ireland’s bacon and helped them into a World Cup quarter final.
Post-match, the Munster flanker’s interception was a popular topic among his teammates.
“Pete’s a powerful guy and he ca take off when he wants to,” said Sean O’Brien.
“It was a great tackle and it saved us from being in an even tighter game.”
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt echoed O’Brien’s praise.
He commented, “Peter did just enough to put him in touch.
“We were stretched at times, even the try (Keith Earls) came a little bit too easy, too early in the game and we switched off a bit. We believed things would happen rather than we had to make them happen and they almost made us pay for that.”
Schmidt also spoke about the yellow card O’Mahony received for a no-arm tackle in the closing stages.
“It is what they (officials) are looking for,” he remarked. “If you look hard enough you will find something. We have to be whiter than white.”
