Peter O'Mahony was spotted employing some intriguing tactics in the scrum during Ireland's Six Nations victory over Wales on Saturday afternoon.
The Ireland captain led his side to a third win from three, as the march to a second successive Grand Slam continued in Dublin.
Tries came from Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Ciarán Frawley and Tadhg Beirne, securing a bonus point 31-7 win. It was a tougher game than expected for Ireland, as they fought off a spirited defensive supply from Warren Gatland's Wales side.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Six Nations thus far for Ireland has been the visible improvements to several areas which began to cause problems late in the World Cup run last winter.
The lineout has returned to its pre-World Cup levels of excellence, while Ireland's scrum has slowly steadied after a trend emerged which saw Andrew Porter continually penalised.
During Saturday's victory over Wales, eagle-eyed viewers spotted a unique tactic from Ireland captain O'Mahony to prevent Porter from drawing the attention of referee Andrea Piardi.
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Ireland v Wales: Intriguing Peter O'Mahony scrum tactic spotted
Footage shared on Twitter showed that Peter O'Mahony initially tapped Andrew Porter's elbow to indicate that he should lift, before physically pushing the loosehead prop's arm up by the elbow.
O Mahony playing the captains role and doing the on field coaching.
Got to keep that elbow up if you want to stay alive at loosehead. pic.twitter.com/HxgXrETzDE— Jim Demps (@jim_demps) February 24, 2024
The loosehead of the scrum dropping had been an issue for Ireland in recent games, with the World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand seeing it become an especially prevalent issue.
During the pool stage game against South Africa, Porter was warned by referee Ben O'Keeffe to lift his elbow in the scrum, before the Leinster man was penalised for the same offence during the quarter-final against the All Blacks.
The clip from Saturday's game against Wales shows that this is an issue that Peter O'Mahony and the Ireland coaches are aware of and are seeking to address at scrum time.
O'Mahony also showed his leadership in calling for fly-half Jack Crowley to join the maul as Ireland went over for their first try courtesy of Dan Sheehan.
Ireland have their first try on the board against Wales as Dan Sheehan powers over #IREvWAL #SixNations
📱 Updates - https://t.co/yTLOjzwo3W
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7 pic.twitter.com/BpWHhzKobP— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 24, 2024
Porter, meanwhile, was involved in a moment of peak shithousery - or, should we say, shoehousery - in the second-half of the game.
The front row could be seen throwing away the lost boot of Welshman Gareth Thomas, before the two exchanged blows.
Shoehousery from Andrew Porter pic.twitter.com/V6KkKGbQbK
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) February 24, 2024
Ireland now stand as comfortable leaders in the Six Nations table, with the maximum from a possible 15 thus far. Their next game sees them face England on March 9, with kick-off at Twickenham at 4:45pm.
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