Peter O’Mahony’s elevation from the Irish bench on the last morning of the Six Nations 13 weeks ago to captain of the British & Irish Lions in the first test is a remarkable story.
Asked if he could have imagined being a Lions Test captain in the minutes before the England game, when he came into a reshuffled back-row after Jamie Heaslip was forced to withdraw, O'Mahony was lost for words and almost whispered his reply.
“No. No, not at all.” And never one to say more than is necessary, that was all there was to say on that one.
Warren Gatland's choice of captain is as much based on O'Mahony's form, along with that of Sean O'Brien, ahead of Sam Warburton, but also reflects his captaincy – more do as he does than do as he says – albeit his words held to drive standards on and off the pitch.
"Peter has done a good job and he is chuffed about it," said Gatland. "He's lucky that he's got a lot of experience around him. We have been very pleased with the micro chat within the squad with players contributing to the talk, whether it's been Sean O'Brien . . . Sam has been been excellent, Alun Wyn Jones and George Kruis, Owen Farrell as well, so there's a lot of leadership within the group. There's not people talking for the sake of it. There's not white noise. It's clarity and it's succinct. Peter has got to concentrate on doing his job which he does well and he will get plenty of support from other players too."
Indeed, O’Mahony will prioritise his own performance and that of the squad’s, and one ventures that, while he is proud of the honour, it won’t mean all that much unless the Lions win.
“As I said before the Maori game, it’s incredible to be picked for the Lions and then to be asked to captain them is a huge honour. Now it’s down to business now and down to performance from the 23 guys that are picked. Now it’s on to the job.
“Taulupe (Faletau) has been probably the outstanding player so far, he has played incredibly well, Seanie is carrying really well and getting back into it. It’s nice to play alongside two players of such calibre.”
Bidding to become the first side to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1994 is a daunting task, and while respectful of it, it’s one that won’t frighten him.
“It’s a huge task given the calibre of player New Zealand have,” said O’Mahony. “Their record at Eden Park is impressive. But it’s going to be a different animal at the weekend, there are going to be 20,000 odd Lions fans there. To be involved in a game of this magnitude is where all these players who have been picked want to be, challenging against the best in the world.
“There would be something seriously wrong if there wasn’t excitement the week that’s in it. There is a huge amount of energy in there.”
When he was also asked to recap his own journey over the season that will forever be remembered for the passing of Anthony Foley, but the intrusiveness of the media glare and emotions this might have generated obliged him to answer such questions with a relatively straight bat.
“You would hope he would be proud (of me being captain). It's been a difficult season, but you try and take as many positives out of it as you can. The experiences I have had and the 41 have had over the last few weeks, it’s about growing and learning.
“It’s Lions against the All Blacks and you have got to use everything you have had over your entire rugby career and try and use it all for Saturday. There are guys who are hugely disappointed but they have been out there today training their hearts out to try and prepare the team as best they can. Everyone is rolling in behind us.”
Even then, he was asked what advice Foley might have given him before the game on Saturday.
“Axel’s a rugby man, so he would have told us all ‘play your game, play what you do and what you know’. He’d have said there’s a reason there’s 45 players here now who have been selected. So just go out and play the game you know and what you’re here for.
“There’s no point in trying to be something you’re not over here. You’ve been picked for a reason, so if you go out and play as well as you can, no one’s going to fault you for that.
As anticipated, the other two Irish players in the starting team are Conor Murray and Tadhg Furlong (along with Jack McGrath and Johnny Sexton on the bench), and Furlong perhaps put O'Mahony's qualities as a captain best.
“I think Pete brings a dog, edge, a hunger and hard work. He leads a lot of the time by his actions and a lot of the unseen work that he does. I couldn’t speak highly enough of him as a captain. When you go into the trenches and the game becomes tight, he’s the man everyone rows in behind.”
