Peter O'Mahony has claimed Ireland's competition for places has made him a better player at the as his body has 'never felt better.'
Speaking to the media ahead of Ireland's last game of 2022 against Australia, Peter O'Mahony has been in flying form in a difficult season for his province. He put the provincial issues to one side in a huge display to defeat world champions South Africa.
In a hugely physical battle, it was an important victory for Ireland, who will face the Springboks in next year's World Cup. Peter O'Mahony will line up for Ireland in their final game of 2022 against Australia, and reveals the adjustments he made to his game at the age of 33. Speaking at the announcement of being an ambassador with Aviva Ireland, O'Mahony said:
"I struggled with a few things that maybe Andy and the lads were looking at. It took me a while to really figure it out for myself I think. I’m starting to get there. I’m starting to really figure it out and obviously with the more time that comes, the more experienced you get and the more practice you do, the better you’re going to get
The environment that we have now, in both camps I’m in, it’s an incredible place to learn and be involved in. I’m constantly picking up new things. When training with quality players you’re picking things up off 21 year olds in this Irish camp, guys who seem to be incredibly experienced even though they haven’t been around that long.
But as I said, every day you’re going in and you’re figuring things out and improving. As soon as that stops, that’s the day that I’m out the gap. You’ve got to keep wanting to be better always and to keep being hungry for knowledge.
Importance Of Squad Depth
One of the aspects of the Ireland squad that has pushed on Peter O'Mahony at this point of his career is the quality and depth of the current Irish squad, an area that has let down Ireland in the past.
This could be seen in Ireland's victory over Fiji, where several big names, including Peter O'Mahony were rested. Nick Timoney made a rare start and scored two tries in a top performance.
For O'Mahony, competition at this level is hugely important if Ireland are to continue being successful at the highest level.
"I think if you're comfortable you're already in trouble. You look at guys, being in the Irish camp, the likes of Cian Prendergast got his cap last week, he's an incredible athlete, incredibly hungry, has a real appetite to learn and improve all the time
Guys like Max Deegan coming into camp, Gavin Coombes putting in huge performances since he's come back from injury. Scott Penny was in camp recently, it was my first experience with him, and he's an impressive young fella, really hungry, and has a real appetite to improve.
You’ve seen before you can’t rely on 25, 30, 35 players. It has to be more than that. It just has to be more. It’s something that we’ve been looking at, certainly in the back row but across the board.
You look at the guys that we are developing and there’s a real push that a couple of poor performances and there’s guys champing at the bit. That pushes everyone to up their standards and push on."
Emergence Of Jack Crowley
One player that has impressed for both Munster and Ireland is Jack Crowley, who made his debut off the bench against Fiji last weekend.
After an impressive start to the season with Munster and Emerging Ireland, Crowley has been viewed as a possible long term replacement for Sexton, who is still Ireland's fly-half at the age of 37.
Crowley may get another opportunity off the bench this weekend, as he was named among the replacements to face Australia, and the Munster captain has been impressed by what he has seen.
"He’s a top young fella, real appetite to learn to ask questions and learn on his rugby knowledge. His understanding of the game, how we are trying to play and how we are trying to do things. You can see from his performances he is gifted athletically.
He will learn a huge amount from the people he is around. Not just the staff, but being around guys like Johnny and Joey regularly, guys like Ross Byrne and Frawley and those kinds of guys will have bit more experience than him.
Certainly for me when I come into camp you are picking up things off guys, seeing what they are doing, how they carry themselves, how they deliver the messages."
Irish Rugby player Peter O’Mahony has been announced as an ambassador for Aviva Ireland. Peter is pictured at the launch of Aviva Ireland’s Christmas donation drive - for every Aviva home insurance policy sold this festive season, Aviva Ireland will donate €10 to charity through its partner, FoodCloud. Visit aviva.ie/foodcloud
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