Peter O'Mahony enjoyed a successful return to the Irish team against Scotland, despite being booed by the home crowd. The 35-year-old flanker helped Ireland to a 11th consecutive victory over their Celtic rivals. O'Mahony, who captained Ireland to last year's Six Nations success, reflected on the game and his future with the national team.
LEAVING THE PITCH is number six, Peter O’Mahony!” The Murrayfield stadium announcer signalled the Cork man’s exit and while the big crowd of Irish support roared their appreciation for the blindside flanker, the Scottish fans weren’t to be drowned out. The boos were unmissable, perhaps a mixture of begrudging respect at O’Mahony having got the better of them for the 13th time in his career but certainly also plenty of genuine dislike.
O’Mahony said he didn’t notice at the time as he headed for the Irish bench having been replaced by Jack Conan in the 52nd minute of their bonus-point win in Edinburgh on Sunday, but it was brought to his attention. “I think someone said I got a fairly savage boo when I came off which is potentially one of the biggest compliments of my career of 111 Test matches,” said the 35-year-old. “So thanks, Murrayfield!” There was plenty said about O’Mahony’s enjoyment of playing against the Scots last week after he was a surprise inclusion in Simon Easterby’s starting XV. Advertisement The Munster back row certainly seems to relish getting stuck into the Scots. “How much I enjoy it or how much Ireland enjoy it?” said O’Mahony mischievously. “I don’t know what it is. It’s competitive, we’ve had the Glasgow thing for a long time.” O'Mahony makes a pass for Ireland. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Either way, Ireland continued their dominance of the relationship with Scotland as they made it 11 wins in a row against their Celtic rivals. They enjoyed a superb start at Murrayfield and though there were a few sticky periods later in the game, an Irish win always seemed inevitable. They weren’t unduly bothered by not building up an even greater lead by half time. “You know what, we felt good,” said O’Mahony. “I have to say, I know we weren’t down the line with the scoreboard but we knew we were on top, we knew we were playing well. We had a couple of things to sort out but we didn’t feel like, ‘Ah, we missed that chance.’ “It felt good, that’s what I got out of it.” O’Mahony’s highlight on his return for Ireland was a first-half breakdown turnover. Sam Prendergast tackled Scotland prop Zander Fagerson just outside the Irish 22 and O’Mahony pounced over the ball in familiar fashion, lifting it away clean and allowing Prendergast to kick clear. O’Mahony was Ireland’s second-busiest ball carrier with nine overall, one behind Caelan Doris, and contributed to the Irish lineout and maul before Conan replaced him. “I loved that, I have to say, loved it,” said O’Mahony. “I thought we had a really good first half, first 10, 15 minutes. We spoke about our start and we spoke about it afterwards, we felt like we were all over them. So I enjoyed that, I have to say. “Everyone who plays professional rugby in Ireland wants to play for Ireland. All the kids want to play for Ireland, even more so now because every time they turn on the TV we’re winning, you know? “If you ask any of my generation who they followed it was all the teams that won, so everyone wants to play for Ireland. It’s no different for me or my youngest fella or my middle fella, they all want to play for Ireland. Peter O'Mahony arrives in Murrayfield. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO “So I’m delighted I got the chance to put on the jersey and put in a performance like that.” Related Reads 6 players who furthered their Lions credentials in the Six Nations It's the hope that hurts you. Ireland left Scottish fans in despair once again O’Mahony has been part of five Ireland teams who have won Six Nations titles, captaining his country to last year’s success. There were Grand Slams in 2018 and 2023. So he knows a thing or two about what it takes. After two bonus-point wins from two so far in this campaign, he’s excited to see what’s ahead. “I sense that this is a good group and if we put our minds to it, if we stay on top of the stuff that we talk about, we can put in some very, very good performances,” said O’Mahony. “We’re tough to beat but you saw just before half-time, little lapses of concentration, we don’t scrum quite right and miss the breakdown penalty, we kind of switch off defensively and that’s international rugby, you’ve got to be all over it for 80 minutes. “As soon as you switch off you’re under pressure from teams like Scotland, Wales coming up, and down the line. So you’ve got to be all over it for the majority of the game.” O’Mahony will be one of the key leaders keeping Ireland focused
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