If there was a game that sealed the Lions selections of Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony, it was their ferocious performances for Ireland against an England side that arrived in Dublin hunting a Grand Slam.
For O’Brien, however, it was a game two weeks later that settled, in his head at least, that he would be going on his second Lions tour.
“If I could pick a game that swung it,” he tells SportsJOE, “it would probably be the Wasps game.
“But I always felt that if I was fit that I’d be in with a shout. The coaches know what I can bring to the table, that I’ve got that bit of experience and that I can add value. It was just about making sure I was fit and playing as much rugby as I could.”
O’Brien was excellent in that Champions Cup victory over Wasps but two weeks previous, at the Aviva Stadium again, the combination of O’Mahony, O’Brien and CJ Stander [at No.8] was too much for England and gave Warren Gatland a taste of what they could do in Lions jerseys.
Ahead of that game, Ronan O’Gara told The Hard Yards that he expected O’Brien to lead the Irish charge.
“This is a weekend on which you get measured and they won’t be found wanting… It’ll be a sad day if England out-desire Ireland in the Aviva.
“This game is not about stopping England. It’s about Ireland.”
It certainly was and one man that was not supposed to start the game made such a crucial difference. O’Mahony was on the bench as back row reserve but was promoted to blindside flanker when Jamie Heaslip pulled up with a back injury minutes before kick-off.
The Munster man was in rabid, rapacious form on the day as Billy Vunipola and his packmates were shut down and bullied across the park.
That performance set off the touch paper that got O’Mahony on the plane to New Zealand and his full-on outings against Crusaders and the New Zealand Maori saw him named Lions captain for the First Test.
Referring back to the sad passing of Munster coach Anthony Foley, in October 2016, and how O’Mahony coped with it as Munster captain, O’Brien speaks about his Ireland teammate with undoubted respect.
“Pete had a tough year, that year, too and he’s such an incredible fella, and hard working; a real nice guy. I was absolutely delighted for him.
“He had a phenomenal game against England and that catapulted him above a few other lads, in the pecking order, for selection. ig games like that can change the mindset of a coach going into a tour.
“But to get the captaincy and to be the captain of the British and Irish Lions is pretty special and he can have that forever.”
O’Mahony and George Kruis were unfortunate to be the fall guys for that First Test defeat and, with CJ Stander able to cover all three back row positions, the Cork native missed out on the matchday squads for the next two games. According to several teammates, however, O’Mahony was a model pro in training before those games and got fully behind the team as they ended up sharing the series.
Both men are pure warriors and it would be great to see them in tandem for Ireland this November.
Before we get there, though, they have several big games coming up for Munster and Leinster, including an inter-pro clash at that same Aviva Stadium on October 7. The kind words will go out the window for at least 80 minutes that night.
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