Will Greenwood on Munster’s Peter O’Mahony: A proper player who needs to be mentioned alongside the greats

GOTCHA: Wasps' Thomas Youngs is chased down by Peter O'Mahony in Munster's Champions Cup win at Wasps last Sunday. 

WORLD Cup winner and three-time Lion Will Greenwood has penned a worthy paean to Munster’s ‘irreplaceable’ veteran Peter O’Mahony, believing him worthy of mention in any conversation on the greats of rugby.

Greenwood reflected on Munster’s Champions Cup win last weekend in a column Friday for The Telegraph and watched O’Mahony deliver moments that had the ex-England centre rewinding to appreciate their importance.

“Every now and again you watch a game and see a player who has been plying their trade for a decade, perhaps taken for granted, often overlooked, rarely the headliner. But look closer and you realise that they are the secret ingredient - the rhythm, the tempo, the impact, the accuracy. Nothing flash, preferring to deliver relentless consistency at the highest level,” Greenwood writes.

LEADER: O’Mahony celebrates with Andrew Conway.

Straight from the try-saving tackle on Thomas Young in the opening minutes, O’Mahony showed what he is willing to do for the cause.

“O’Mahony chased his prey down, and then at full stretch, five yards from his own line, made his move with a textbook tackle that bundled Young into touch a yard before he could ground the ball.

“Munster need limbs removed before they will stop trying to win a game in Europe but you don’t turn that level of intensity on and off like a tap. It is passed from player to player, generation to generation. Even so, to fully understand what it means, the young guys need to see, up close and personal, what it means to wear red and what senior players are willing to do for victory.” 

Greenwood delved into O’Mahony’s close-to-the-edge playing style in The Telegraph: “One moment against Wasps summed this up. After a wide break from Munster, Andrew Conway chipped and regathered. He was tackled by Jimmy Gopperth, who tried to get to his feet to affect the turnover before O’Mahony arrived, horizontally at knee height and Exocet speed, and hit him square in the chest and way beyond the ruck. O’Mahony was able to leave his feet at this breakdown to remove an opponent still with a knee on the floor. The ball was recycled, moved wide and Patrick Campbell scored to take Munster 11 points clear. But the ferocity of the clear-out, at the height committed, on a moving target, was eye-wateringly close to being deemed worthy of a red card, especially with Romain Poite as referee.“ 

RESPECT: Will Greenwood

His basics are also sensational, Greenwood said. “O'Mahony is everything I would want from my No 6. I was spoiled rotten by playing with Richard Hill from 1993 until 2005, and there are few I would ever consider his equal. When I watch Peter O’Mahony in whatever colour jersey he is wearing I find myself thinking (as an old duffer) how much fun we could have, and how much damage we could cause, in the same team. A proper player that needs to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the greats.”