O’Mahony: I’m always learning

A good hour had passed since Saturday’s final whistle and yet Peter O’Mahony was still catching the eye. As Joe Schmidt and Paul O’Connell held court at the top table press conference, the Munster flanker could be seen through the side door, lounging luxuriously on a couch, chatting and smiling into a mobile phone.

It was about the only time O’Mahony was in anything but perpetual motion after a performance that helped neuter Wales’ vaunted back row and garnered him the man-of-the-match award.

O’Mahony is building up a body of work that belies his 24 short years and if there is a sight that remains etched in the memory after this one it must be that of the man’s upside-down torso sticking out of a ruck. Much more of this and he may as well swap his No. 6 jersey for a 9. He was everywhere. All the time. Or so it seemed. This was his 21st appearance for Ireland, and impressive though his first 20 were, this one felt like a coming of age.