Warren Gatland has already praised Peter O’Mahony as a ‘Munster mongrel’ so it’s fair to say he’s a fan.
O’Mahony is the fourth British & Irish Lions captain on the current tour and, my God, hasn’t he earned it.
The Cork native has shot from outside the Ireland matchday 23 to Six Nations finalé hero, Munster talisman and member of the 2017 Lions panel. He is now on course for his third tour game, second start and first time as Lions captain.
O’Mahony is on the charge…
One of the best aspects of O’Mahony’s character, and game, is that he is one hell of a competitor.
Soft spoken and considered off the pitch, once he crosses the white line he is a hellacious dog of war. There is no better sight, for many Munster and Ireland supporters, than O’Mahony roaring to the heavens after a hard-fought penalty is won, a try is scored or an opponent bested.
Following the 2015 Six Nations, former England and Lions star Will Greenwood named O’Mahony in his team of the tournament and summed the man up with one cracking sentence:
‘If all the wild horsemen of the apocalypse came around the corner O’Mahony would charge straight back at them.’
The Lions head coach raved about O’Mahony, earlier today, when he named his side to face the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua this Saturday. His comments mirrored those of Greenwood and showed his undoubted respect for the Munster man:
‘He never takes a backward step and we believe that those leadership qualities will serve us well on Saturday against a quality and determined Maori All Blacks team.’
As for O’Mahony, he described the bestowing of the Lions captaincy as the greatest honour in his career to date.
He said, “To get the nod from Warren this weekend is hugely special, not just me but for all the clubs, people and family who have put effort into me. It’s a huge honour.
“We want to win but first and foremost we need a performance. Whatever comes after that is what comes.”
