Centurion O’Mahony inspired by fond memories of Axel

The Munster man will reach the milestone in the French capital on Saturday night.

TON UP: Peter O'Mahony poses for a portrait after an Ireland Rugby media conference at Le Domaine des Vanneaux Hotel in Paris, France. Picture: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

There will be added poignancy to Peter O’Mahony’s 100th Ireland cap coming in the French capital at Stade de France tomorrow night, almost seven years on from Anthony Foley’s sudden death in the city.

It was on October 16, 2016 when tragedy befell a Munster squad captained by O’Mahony when their head coach passed away during the night before a Heineken Champions Cup match against Racing 92 and memories of that terrible day in the province’s history have been sparked in the Ireland stalwart’s mind since Andy Farrell’s squad arrived here at the 2023 World Cup for their pool game with South Africa a fortnight ago.

Foley, who was only 42 years of age when he died, was just one of the people O’Mahony mentioned as having influenced his long career, alongside his own father John.

Yesterday, as the 34-year-old back row was given the green light to become Ireland’s 10th Test centurion after the head coach named him at blindside flanker to face Scotland in a final Pool B match that will decide who advances from the group into the quarter-finals, he explained how “Axel” is never far from his thoughts.

“Yeah, look it was funny, myself and Johnny (Sexton) had a conversation about it, I think it was on the way to the South African game actually, about sometimes it is weird to be in Paris and to think about Axel and what happened,” O’Mahony said.

“It certainly is an incredibly sad memory, particularly for that Munster team who were in Paris that week.

“I’m not going to go into it now but Johnny made a couple of lovely gestures to the family afterwards but Axel is always somebody who is certainly in my head on a very regular basis and when you come to Paris he certainly comes to mind.

“I’ve the fondest memories that we had together and the amount of inspiration he gave, not to just to me, but to lots of young kids in Munster and Ireland. As I said, very fond memories.” 

Those memories will only add to the inevitable emotion that comes with a landmark appearance such as O’Mahony’s. He is the third current Munster player to reach 100 caps in the past 11 months following in the footsteps of Conor Murray against South Africa last November and Keith Earls, who reached his century against England in August.

“I’m just trying to prepare as if it’s another Test match for me,” he said. “Hopefully get all this stuff out of the way as early as possible.

“It’s certain I’ll have a sit-down and think the odd time I’m sitting on my own having a coffee and have a quick think about it. I’m hoping there are going to be bigger moments in my career than this one, and hopefully in the near future.

“My firm focus will be on Saturday and my performance in the game.” 

Facing the media yesterday at Ireland’s new team hotel north of Paris was an ordeal for O’Mahony, he admitted.

"Oh I would love to be inside there having a cup of tea with the lads. This would be the last place I would sit in front of to be honest with you. Look, obviously, I've got some texts already and I'm hugely grateful for everyone's best wishes and that. I want a win for the lads at the weekend, that's the main thing.

"I'm trying to keep (emotions) at bay at the moment. The most important thing is Saturday for me. It's obviously a special occasion for me and my family but the most important thing is the match and the performance on Saturday so that's absolutely the focus at the moment.” 

O’Mahony has acknowledged the passing of time with good grace and an acceptance he can no longer prepare for matches in the same way he once did.

“You can't do as much as the young guys do these days. Some of the extras you'd see the guys doing afterwards and pre-training, I just can't physically do them so I need to use the sessions as diligently as I can to get as much fitness, ball-play, whatever I need to do I need to get that in-session, really, because I’m obviously pushing on a bit so it’s changing those little few dynamics. You know, stuff in the gym that I need to change that a few years ago I would have been flying.

“You just need to manage the body a bit more and the main thing for me is the Saturday. It’s about getting yourself prepared and ready for Test matches on the weekend. So there are certainly adjustments that have to be made and I’ve had some good guys who have looked after me through the years, S&C-wise and obviously coaches.” 

As for the help he received much earlier in his career, O’Mahony has not forgotten the influence of coaches back at Cork Constitution and his old school PBC Cork as well as at Munster. Yet he admitted that despite a lifetime on a rugby field, much of it at the highest level, reaching 100 caps was never a realistic goal.

"I'm still kind of surprised,” he said. “There's 10 people who have got 100 caps for Ireland and it's almost a little bit embarrassing with the names that are ahead of me to be honest, people I grew up following and supporting, hugely inspirational characters.

“To be the 10th, it's going to take some time to settle in. It's nothing I ever expected or dreamed of. We all talk about having dreams but that one was way off the radar to be honest.”