O’Mahony disappointed to be left out of starting XV for second Test but puts team first

Ireland's Peter O'Mahony

Ireland coach Andy Farrell was expecting a tough conversation with tour captain Peter O’Mahony about leaving him out of the starting team for the second Test against the Springboks. It turned out to be easier than expected.

O’Mahony is the one casualty from last week’s 27-20 loss to the Springboks in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld for this weekend’s second Test at Kings Park.

Centre Bundee Aki, scrumhalf Craig Casey and hooker Dan Sheehan all miss out due to injury, but it was the skipper who was ‘dropped’. No 8 Caelan Doris will captain the team.

“It was very easy (the conversation) because of how he is as a person,” Farrell said of the decorated O’Mahony.

“You don't expect those conversations to be easy and don't get me wrong, he's not accepting and he's not happy obviously, but he does the right thing for the team.

“That's at the forefront of his mind constantly and that's proper leadership.

“He understands that we want to have a look in this direction to see how it goes. He’s the captain of this tour and it shows the mark of the man how you lead after a bit of disappointment, how you carry on being yourself or not.

“He’s on the bench for a reason. He makes people feel good, it’s right when he’s there with his presence and leading. That has been so evident over the last couple of days so he couldn't have done a better job in that regard.” 

O’Mahony’s move to bench is to accommodate a rejigged pack with James Ryan coming into the second row and Tadhg Beirne moving to the blindside flank position. It’s a role he performed at Rugby World Cup 2023.

“Well, you could talk about Tadhg, or Pete going to the bench, but what people are failing at this moment in time to talk about is that James Ryan has been a starter for us for years and years and been a real leader within our side and he's not happy sitting on the bench neither,” Farrell said.

“We've seen some real guts and fight and determination to get his starting place back, so I thought he had a great impact off the bench last week.

“How he's trained throughout this tour so far shows that he’s hungry, so we're hoping to get something from him. We know that Tadhg Beirne is a world class player no matter what position he plays in.” 

Aki was unable to shake off a shoulder injury from the first Test, in which he played the last 20 minutes in discomfort. It opened the door for Garry Ringrose to slot in alongside Robbie Henshaw in the midfield.

“He'll (Aki) fight when he has to, but unfortunately it (his shoulder) was really sore at the beginning of the week and he was a bit shut down, and it would have been a risk,” Farrell said.

“Also, with the quality of back-up centres that we've got, we have to do the right thing by the team and Bundee understands that.”

And as for Doris captaincy, after some curt exchanges with Luke Pearce last week, Farrell has full confidence in the No 8 stepping up as a leader and in his communication with this week’s referee, Karl Dickson.

“I thought he was excellent at the weekend,” Farrell said.

“I think first and foremost he leads from the front. He’s in outstanding form, his performance last week, never mind the leadership or captaincy bit, was outstanding. Be the best version of yourself, that's the best form of leadership.

“He's a calming influence, he’s bright. The questions that he's going to the referees with are the right ones. His manner is very good as well.

“I'm sure as Caelan goes through his leadership roles, hopefully there will be many more as far as captaincy is concerned, albeit he is still in that infancy as far as trying to get some more experience, hence why he's got this opportunity.

“He’ll continue to have respect for himself, as a captain, as a leader, but also in the eyes of the referees as well."