“Tomorrow we will all do our best to win the game” – Irish Times

It won’t be that long and that damn World Cup quarter-final weekend will be further away from the rearview mirror. Peter O’Mahony, admittedly in his characteristically understated way, could do little to hide his sense of anticipation after his first run as Six Nations captain under clear blue skies at the towering Stade Velodrome. .

Ireland kicked off the post-Johnny Sexton era with a mouth-watering Six Nations opener against France, and addressing the media in the back of the stadium, the newly appointed captain said: Not only for my situation, but also for the group and many others within the group.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for the players and a big opportunity for all of us to continue the journey. It’s a great place to do it, a great stadium.

“I haven’t been here for a long time, having come over there from Captain’s Run, and unfortunately I don’t have any good memories, but it’s a great place to play rugby,” said O’Mahony, who did not captain the Munster team. said. In May 2014, he lost to Toulon in the Champions Cup semi-final due to a shoulder injury.

These two teams have won the last two titles and each completed a Grand Slam, but for one of them, barring a draw, their chances of doing so are gone by the end of opening night, and the first The importance of winning this weekend is emphasized.

“Every game in this competition is huge and that is an understatement,” O’Mahony insisted. “You can do whatever you want, but we’re all going to give it our all tomorrow to win the game and build momentum for the rest of the campaign. As I said, this is a huge opportunity for both of us. ”

Over the years, O’Mahony and Sexton have developed a very strong friendship.

“I’ve had a very close relationship with him for a long time for rugby reasons, but I’m going to keep in touch with him for a lot of other reasons. I had a good chat with him a few weeks ago and he’s doing well so I can report. ” O’Mahony said, suggesting that Sexton may be being treated better than we imagined in his retirement.

Of course, O’Mahony was learning from Sexton.

“If you asked anyone who played with Johnny in the dressing room if they didn’t feel something from him, I would be shocked, as I have from every leader I’ve met in my career. That’s what this game is about, learning, being diligent, and picking things up from people who figured it out, and he certainly was one of those people.

“Fortunately, I’ve come across a lot of guys in my career who figured it out at that point. It’s hard for me or anyone who played with them to not take huge amounts of money from them. That would be a big mistake.”

The customary echo chamber was in stark contrast to the lively venue that was packed to capacity on Friday night for more than 67,000 people, including an estimated 70,000 to 10,000 Irish supporters.

“I think there will be a lot of support here tomorrow. I know there are certain numbers being reported, but I think the numbers are much higher than that. I’ve seen the support we’ve had and we always have great away support. I have no doubt it will be the same tomorrow.”

O’Mahony, who captained Munster for 10 years and Ireland’s Test captain for 10 years, is grizzled and gnarled and feels no added pressure to lead Ireland to victory.

“If I were immature, I would say yes, but at the moment I have enough mileage and with it I can gain some experience.

“I have great people around me, a great coaching staff and a great group of players.

“We all feel the pressure to perform for Ireland and every time we are selected it is not only an honour, but also a huge responsibility.

“That’s something everyone feels, whether you’re captain or a traveling reserve. You feel a responsibility to contribute to the jersey and that applies to all of us.”