Simon Easterby backs Peter O'Mahony to give Ireland 'the edge' against Scotland

O'MAHONY RECALLED: Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby during a press conference at the Radisson Hotel, Dublin Airport. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.

Simon Easterby has backed Peter O’Mahony to bring the edge against Scotland on Sunday as he recalled the veteran back-rower for Ireland’s Murrayfield mission.

The interim head coach made two changes to the side which defeated England 27-22 in last week’s Guinness Six Nations opening round in Dublin, where O’Mahony missed out on selection.

The 35-year-old will earn his 11th Ireland cap in Edinburgh at blindside flanker as Ryan Baird moves to the bench and last week’s second-row replacement Iain Henderson drops out of the matchday squad while in the backline, Robbie Henshaw moves off the bench to outside centre as Garry Ringrose takes the outside back replacement role in a straight swap.

Sunday’s game will mark O’Mahony’s first Ireland start since he captained his country in the opening Test of last July’s series opener in South Africa.

Andy Farrell dropped the Munster flanker for the second Test, naming No.8 Caelan Doris as skipper in a role he has continued since as O’Mahony has served as a replacement in the second Test against the Springboks and throughout the Autumn Nations Series.

Easterby, though, sees an influential role for the veteran against the Scots and on Friday said of O’Mahony: “He just has that ability, doesn't he, to play big when it's needed.

“He has the edge around him in training last week when he wasn't involved, he brought a lot of competition into the group for those that were starting.

“He was disappointed not to get the selection in the 15 or 23 for England, so I think what he does do when he plays against sides like Scotland is he plays right on the edge, he's confrontational, he leads by example, other players will certainly follow that example.

“I think he brings that type of experience that clearly takes time and caps to build that experience and know-how to take on a team like Scotland at Murrayfield. He brings a lot of different dynamics. He's brilliant around the group when he's not involved in the 23, but it's a different dynamic when he is involved.”

Easterby explained O’Mahony was undercooked for Test rugby last weekend having recently returned from a five-week lay-off following a calf contusion sustained on Champions Cup duty for Munster at Castres on December 13.

He started against Northampton Saints on January 18 and played 50 minutes before heading straight into Ireland’s Six Nations camp and the interim boss said: "With Pete, we spoke before the England week and having come into camp with a little bit less rugby under his belt we felt that he needed another week to work on a little bit of conditioning.

"I think he supported the guys last week incredibly well, Bairdo did well in terms of his lineout work was excellent - Pete brings that, but he also brings experience which at the moment some other players can't offer.

"It's probably a decision we've been thinking about for a couple of weeks, but after the England performance it was a chance to bring Pete in, bring his experience to the table and keep Bairdo involved off the bench."

“We’re in a position where we’re trying to grow both of them”

Interesting insight into the Jack Crowley-Sam Prendergast debate from interim Ireland coach Simon Easterby after retaining the Leinster 10 for the Scotland trip

⁦@ExaminerSport⁩ pic.twitter.com/ekENG5B6kl

— Brendan O'Brien (@byBrendanOBrien) February 7, 2025

Easterby also discussed his decision to keep Sam Prendergast as Ireland’s starting fly-half despite Jack Crowley’s influential contribution as his replacement on 59 minutes against England in round one.

The interim head coach praised Crowley for putting his disappointment to one side in order to help Prendergast prepare for his first Ireland start away from home this Sunday.

"He was disappointed and so were a lot of other players who didn't make either the starting 15 or the bench.

“I think keeping some continuity with selection was important. I do agree that Jack was good last weekend coming off the bench. The game had opened up a bit and that's partly due to the way he played and played the game in different areas of the pitch, so he did add real quality when he came off the bench, as did a lot of the other guys off the bench.

“We know how important the start is but we also saw last weekend how important finishing the game is. So Jack is clearly disappointed but he's an unbelievable person.

"He's so supportive. He doesn't let his own disappointment doesn't reflect on the way he trained yesterday, the way he is in camp, the way he's supporting Sam and the other players.

“He's a great fella and we're fortunate to have those two. Jack played all of last year, he started every game in the Six Nations, he had those experiences.

"We're in a position where we're trying to both of them and trying to grow Sam's experiences, not just at home last week in a huge game for him and for us as a team but also now going away from home.

"How does he handle those types of experiences which is very different to last weekend?"