Peter O'Mahony: 'If it was my last one, it’s not a bad one to go out on'

The Ireland captain insisted he must speak to his family before deciding if he is to retire from international rugby.

LAST DANCE?: Ireland's Peter O'Mahony is substituted during the Guinness Six Nations match against Scotland. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.

Peter O’Mahony insists he does not know if he has played his last game for Ireland.

The Irish captain cut an emotional figure during the national anthem and again when he was sitting on the bench in the closing stages of their 17-13 victory over Scotland at the Aviva stadium.

And speaking shortly before he lifted the Six Nations title, O’Mahony told Virgin Media Sport that he must discuss his international rugby future with those closest to him.

“I don’t know. I have a few chats to have with the family and stuff over the next couple of weeks,” said O’Mahony.

“If it was my last one, it’s not a bad one to go out on, you know what I mean?

“It was certainly one of the tougher weeks of my career, for lots of different reasons. We weren’t happy with the performance last week and we knew we could do better.

“We had a job to go and do and thankfully today we went out and did it against a seriously good Scottish side.

“But I thought we showed loads of grit, I thought we showed ambition with the ball in a damp, greasy environment.

“I thought we played some good rugby and that kind of middle 20 in the second half was massive for us.

“That’s what we spoke about was getting stuck in. We probably put a lot of led in their legs with regards to the amount of rugby that we played so we needed to get some reward for it.

“We said we would stay at it and keep going and I thought the ten minutes after half time was really, really impressive.

Asked what captaining Ireland during this championship has meant to him, the Cork native joked: “We could stay here for an hour or two chatting about that!”

“Special group of people, the players, staff. That World Cup experience really bonded this group, I know we are missing a couple of guys from that.

“But between or families and the group, we’re tight. It’s a huge honour, it’s a huge honour to captain your country. It’s a huge honour, as I used always so, every time you get selected to play for your country, it’s a big honour.”

Man of the match Jamison Gibson Park added; “He’s a legend, isn’t he? Privilege to play alongside him, an absolute legend of the game.”

Head coach Andy Farrell concluded; “He played his best game tonight. We’re so proud of him. There was a bit of pressure on him wasn’t there?

“He was emotional before the game; I was intrigued to see how he would handle the game on the field because of the emotions were running through his blood as you would expect.

“But he was really calm, he led the team magnificently I thought and played his best game of the tournament.”

If O’Mahony is approaching the end then this is just a beginning for others.

Jack Crowley and Joe McCarthy slipped into unfamiliar shoes for the first time in this campaign and walked the walk for the most part. Both are young men but they understand the calibre of the man who led them out.

“He is what you see,” said Crowley. “He is a leader and to play alongside him for these last couple of years has been a privilege. He is someone I have huge respect for and all the group have respect for because he is himself and he leads with his actions.” 

McCarthy got to soldier with O’Mahony in the engine room this last few months. One a 34-year old Munster man, the other a 22-year old Leinster man, both of them in sync as part of a pack that delivered a title in a year asking trips to Marseille and London.

“Oh, he's an absolute legend,” said the youngster. “I can't stop laughing when I'm around him, to be honest, he's like the heartbeat of our team.

“Playing in the games with him, it's confidence that he brings to the team. I'd love him to keep going, I think everyone feels the same. He's a special, special player.”