Peter O'Mahony lead from the front once again last night as Ireland made it three wins from three in the Rugby World Cup in France.
Andy Farrell's men were made work for victory against South Africa in front of nearly 80,000 people in the Stade de France in arguably the game of the tournament so far.
O'Mahony played his part and despite some issues with the line-out and scrum, dug deep to help his team grind out victory on a 13-8 scoreline.
It was a massive occassion for the 34-year-old from Cork who won his 100th cap for Ireland on what was a memorable for him personally and the country.
Peter O'Mahony: an Irish rugby legend 💯 pic.twitter.com/a783mLc9jo
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) September 23, 2023
The atmosphere inside the stadium was spectacular with thousands of Irish fans descending on the French capital for the weekend.
They arrived inside the stadium early well in advance of the match kicking off and by the time both teams were finalising their warm-ups the noise was already deafening.
With so much at stake facing the South African bomb squad and knowing that they'd be pushed to the limit O'Mahony felt the need to deliver a rousing pre-match address to his teammates, shouting so that he could be heard over the crowd.
Peter O'Mahony pre-match speech highlights great spirit amongst Irish team
The speech was posted on the official social media account of the Rugby World Cup before being deleted but captured the great spirit and camaraderie within the team.
"As we're going on through it, ya, when you run past a fella, [inaudible], you give him a f***ing lift, you pat him on the f***ing hole," O'Mahony roared.
"I'm with you all day, you know what I mean? We're with each other all day.
"We're f***ing working hard, but we need to f***ing look after one another as well boys.
"We in the f***ing depths with you. Picking fellas up. We're going well boys. Be flexible and be f***ing tight."
His words clearly provided some inspiration to those in front of him, who defended resolutely throughout.
Their was jubilant scenes at the end of the game as 'Zombie' by the Cranberries rang around the stadium and O'Mahony seemed to let loose, belting the song out and celebrating with his arms aloft in the air.
SEE ALSO: Ex-South Africa Head Coach 'Absolutely Livid' With Referee After Ireland Win
