Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Niamh Briggs: "Peter O'Mahony has had an unbelievable start to the season"

Quinnie: "He has, theres a bit of a spark to him, a bit of bite" 😣

He has. He was excellent against both Sharks and Stormers. Munster wouldn't have won either game without him. He's started the season brilliantly, but as I've come to expect, he'll still attract the bemoaners.

He's one of those players who never gets credit from a certain crowd. I remember Alex Payne saying how happy he was to see him win that MOTM against New Zealand as he felt as if O'Mahony is rated far more outside of Ireland than in it.

Has he ever played 8?

I'd agree with this. I'd start Coombes, conan, doris and deegan over him. But he's be my first name on the bench for the back row. He can play 6 and 7 to a very high standard and if whoever is at 8 gets injured then whether was 6 moves to 8 and o mahony comes on. I think it's the best cover we have for the back row.

Munster wouldn't have won a game they won 42-17 if they changed one player in the team?

I watched both of those games I don't remember him standing out, i would have said Coombes was much more influential

"Master of none" nonsense aside, the one thing POM is far superior over all those options is the lineout. That's his point of differentiation. (And the unquantifiable leadership that practically every coach and teammate he plays with has mentioned). I'm not saying that alone is enough of a reason to pick him, but it'll depend on what Farrell wants from his combo's in both 2nd row and back-row.

It's about picking units as much as one player over another.

Not really directed at you here TRC10 just the way the reply fell.

People were writing off POM for all the same reasons before the last game against NZ in the Aviva. If POM doesn't play that game, Ireland lose.

Now I'm not saying he HAS to play this November. But it's tiresome to see the same tropes listed about him again and again from people who simply refuse to acknowledge his contribution to a team because they couldn't ever possibly admit they were wrong. Pundits, Journalists, Coaches, Players all speak of POMs ability and how he influences games

Yeah, the 60-0 game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Ireland_rugby_union_tour_of_New_Zealand

Peter O’Mahony was an outstanding player for Ireland in my opinion but I don’t think he is the player he once was. Based on performances in the last 2 years he doesn’t make the bench for me.

According to Robson on comms in the English game, over 50 percent of our last two hundred tries have come from lineouts. If true it's not difficult to see why the coaching staff place such a premium on O'Mahony's ability.

Timoney could offer coverage for 7 and 8 from the bench also but he has yet to step up at international level. Hopefully he gets his opportunity in this window as the next 2 windows, 6 nations and 3 game tour of NZ aren't exactly full of games to sent out an inexperienced team in.

Personally I think Doris could be a better line out option from the back row than o mahony in time. Big fan of Doris and what he brings to the table.

He was one of our best players in the ANC. You still wanted him dropped from the squad. Not even just out of the 23. That's just ridiculous.

That Wales game was in March 2019, 2 and a half years ago. And if we're going to hold that game against him, why don't we give him credit for a game that took place just 4 months earlier; the NZ game in the Aviva.

Perfectly illustrates my point; by any measure he was exceptional in that NZ game and you still want to discredit him. He can do no right for some people, so there's little value in continuing this tbh.