32 years of age and ten years into a magical Irish career, Peter O'Mahony let all the emotion out as Ireland defeated the All Blacks 32-22 in Wellington, and secured an historic series win in New Zealand.
Players and backroom staff went up to POM, put their arms around him, one of them being his Munster teammate Craig Casey.
Casey spoke for Irish rugby fans everywhere, his forehead tight to O'Mahony's, uttering the words
Yih legend yih
The lovely moment was captured by the cameras, and it relayed to those watching back home the sheer enormity of the achievement and what it meant to the players.
Craig Casey sums it up as Peter O'Mahony sheds a tear. One greatest moments @IrishRugby #NZLvIRE Byrne and Henshaw immense pic.twitter.com/lvLkJ4JqQM
— Richard Moore (@Moorerichardpr) July 16, 2022
Ireland v New Zealand : Peter O'Mahony Interview
"Hard to put into words, really," said O'Mahony in his post-match interview. "That [the crowd noise] says a lot, behind me. You know, it's never been done before - to win here, to get a series win.
"It probably wasn't something you thought about, as a young fella. But now, there will be young fellas at home who will dreaming of playing for Ireland and winning over here.
"It will have been done before. It won't be the task that it was. It will never been taken away from that group. That they are the first to do it. Not only one win, but to win a series here."
16 July 2022; Codie Taylor of New Zealand is tackled by Peter O’Mahony of Ireland during the Steinlager Series match between the New Zealand and Ireland at Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
We wrote last week of the social media reaction to O'Mahony's titanic performance in Ireland's second Test win. And while Tadhg Beirne may have hogged a lot of the applause for today's victory, O'Mahony has a strong argument for being Ireland's player of the tour.
SEE ALSO: The Reaction To Tadhg Beirne's All-Time Performance Against New Zealand
