Such is their innate modesty that Peter O’Mahony would utterly hate the comparison, while Paul O’Connell would happily concede it, but whisper it quietly: is O’Mahony’s legacy to Munster and Irish rugby starting to rival that of the legendary lock?
True to both types, in the build-up to becoming just the 10th Irish player to play 100 times for his country, right up until he led the team out on to the pitch, O’Mahony gave the distinct impression that he was enduring rather than enjoying the attention.
Thereafter, though, he can rarely have enjoyed a Test match for his country much more. No less than Johnny Sexton, rarely can he ever have enjoyed being taken off before the 50th-minute mark, but with Ireland 31-0 up, they could this time in the secure knowledge that they would be facing a monumental Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks, same time, same place, next Saturday.
Following on from the post-interval, all-in scuffle and personal exchange with Finn Russell, one of O’Mahony’s final acts, after Dan Sheehan had scored Ireland’s fifth try, was to wink at the Scottish outhalf.
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His post-match interview with Virgin Media’s Tommy Martin at pitchside was vintage O’Mahony, when he couldn’t resist another of his little vignettes.
“They [Scotland] were in the press beforehand saying they were going to knock us off our winning streak and how they had figured us out and worked us out,” said O’Mahony, before pausing for effect, and with perfect timing, added: “I don’t think they did tonight.”
But akin to O’Connell, “doing it for Pete” was another pool source of motivation for his team-mates, even if that could have added to the pressure.
“You can look at it two ways,” said David Kilcoyne afterwards. “You look at what Peter O’Mahony has done. I’ve known him since I was 18 coming into the academy together. We kind of broke in at Munster around the same time. He’s one of my best friends and to see him get 100 caps tonight — all of his family are over, his mum and dad, John and Caroline, his brothers — I don’t find it hard to put in a performance like that for Pete.
“You see how much he gives every week for Munster, what he’s done over the years, got us through some tough times, always shows up, plays with his heart on his sleeve and probably doesn’t get enough credit for some of the stuff he does around the ruck and lineout D. He’s an incredible footballer, incredible rugby IQ.
“I saw Johnny said during the week [that] people don’t get to know the real Pete. He’s the last man to leave the team room every night, he’s down drinking tea whether it be with the young lads or begging me to come down with him. I christened him the badger. He’s just a great fellah, and to give him that win is really important.”
Although O’Mahony didn’t want the attention that came with his landmark day, needless to say Andy Farrell — who makes a huge amount of players reaching 50 or 100 caps — and his team-mates could not resist, not least with his parents, brothers Mark and Cian, wife Jessica and children Indie, Theo and Ralph, all in Paris.
“That’s the mark of the man. Pete is a team man first and always has been. That’s one thing you always say about him, he always puts the team first and his heart is always in the right place.
“Faz [ Andy Farrell] is so emotionally intelligent, you don’t gloss over something like that. To get 100 caps for your country is an incredible achievement so we did make a big deal of it.
“We had his family in during the week, we watched a video of his clips, he gave a little talk and lads talked about him and it was a real beautiful dressingroom to be a part of and witness that. Faz brought this in when he came in and it’s very emotional when you get to see it. It’s great and [the] lads want to go out and put in a performance for them then at the weekend. So, thank God we did that today.”
