O'Mahony: Ireland need whole package against England to set Six Nations record

WHOLE PACKAGE: Peter O'Mahony before Ireland's captain's run ahead of their Six Nations clash with England. Picture: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Peter O’Mahony believes Ireland will have to put the whole package together if they are to beat England on Saturday and set a Guinness Six Nations record of 12 consecutive championship victories.

The Ireland captain will lead the defending champions and 2023 Grand Slam winners out at Twickenham on Saturday evening with his team unbeaten in the Six Nations since a February 2022 round-two loss to France in Paris. Andy Farrell’s men won a Triple Crown in that season, went on to land the Grand Slam last time around and are unbeaten in the first three matches of 2024.

Yet asked to identify what single aspect underpins Ireland’s success in the tournament over that two-year period, the Test centurion could not narrow it down to one key point.

“The problem is you can’t pick one thing, there are so many moving parts, there is so much to work on, in opposition, in us,” O’Mahony said on Friday.

“It’s about who can put the whole package together. We’ve done that to a certain extent in the last few games, but you know every time we come back on a Sunday or Monday and are back in camp, we’ve loads of stuff to do or work on.

“You know every team chases the perfect performance but every team would acknowledge it’s not going to happen. And you know, the hunger I think and the desire from the group to consistently get better is probably what stand out to me. But again, it’s hard to put your finger on one thing, you’ve got to put them all together.” 

Speaking after leading Ireland’s captain’s run training session at Twickenham on Friday, O’Mahony dismissed the notion his side were overwhelming favourites on English soil.

“It's not something that we really buy into. I know you're probably sick of hearing it from me but it's a Test match tomorrow, Ireland versus England. It's about who plays better tomorrow.

“It's not about anything else. It's not about previous form or where you stand, it's about who plays better tomorrow and that's something that we've always been focused on, our performance. We know if we play well tomorrow we'll be in with a shout.

“But if we don't fire this English team has incredible quality and can beat anyone on their day. It's not long ago they were competing in the last two games of the World Cup. We know we're in for a huge test tomorrow here at Twickenham as always.”