Peter O'Mahony focused on Six Nations title not captaincy talk

Peter O'Mahony just focusing on the here and now. 

FOCUSING ON THE HERE AND NOW: Peter O’Mahony has not spoken to Andy Farrell about the captaincy situation with Ireland beyond this Six Nations. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Peter O’Mahony has not spoken to Andy Farrell about the captaincy situation with Ireland beyond this Six Nations.

The Munster man was handed the armband on a permanent basis after last year’s World Cup and the retirement of Johnny Sexton. The standout candidate at the time, he is 34 now and unlikely to make it through the entirety of this World Cup cycle.

“We've been very much focused on this campaign and every game that was coming up and it was no different this week,” he explained ahead of the team’s final Six Nations game, against Scotland in Dublin on Saturday.

That focus on the here and now is understandable.

O’Mahony knows what it is to reach the last round of Six Nations campaigns with nothing tangible to play for and the Ireland skipper has urged his teammates to make the most of the opportunity before them this weekend.

The Munster man first played in the Championship in 2012 and has 104 caps for his country now so, while the inability to claim back-to-back Grand Slams has been a blow, he knows the value of the title that could still be theirs.

“I've spoken about that to the team early this week,” he said after the team’s captain’s run at the Aviva Stadium on Friday. “I've been in plenty of last games of the competition that we haven't been in with a shout. The position that we're in it's very privileged and you can never take it for granted.

“What a game to be selected for and an opportunity to play for your country to win silverware. It can never be something that you take for granted playing for Ireland, especially on the last day of a weekend like this and playing for something as big as a Six Nations championship.” 

Defeat to England in Twickenham last weekend was unexpected given the respective form lines. It also means that England could still nick the title from under Ireland’s nose but only in the event of some unlikely results in Dublin and Lyon on Saturday.

Put simply, Ireland would definitely lift the trophy with a win against Scotland, a draw, or a combination of losing bonus point and four-try scoring point. Claim just one point at the Aviva Stadium and England would still need five match points and an impossible swing in points difference.

Only a loss without any bonus point would leave Ireland vulnerable to an English bonus-point defeat of the French away from home, but O’Mahony has promised that the players’ leadership group will be well attuned to the mathematics should the occasion demand it.

“You have to discuss these things, especially the guys who are making decisions around refereeing calls, that kind of stuff, penalties.

“We are going out to win tomorrow, that’s what we do for every Test match. Of course, there’s a handful of us who might have to make a decision or need to know the permutations but we want to put in a performance tomorrow that’s capable of winning.” 

The Scots come to Dublin with the carrot of a Triple Crown in front of them after earlier defeats of Wales and England although a defeat to Italy in Rome last week, coupled with an earlier reversal against France, leaves them removed from any title talk.

There is an element of wounded and dangerous animal about them.

“I’m sure they are but we’re in the same boat this week,” said O’Mahony. “We’re certainly hurting from last week with certain aspects of the performance and losing. We don’t want to lose, neither to do Scotland, so we’re in the same boat.”