There have been times in this Six Nations when it has looked like Tommy O'Donnell was doomed to be the one who was one too many. Three games down, he has yet to get e'er a bit of good news out of Joe Schmidt on a weekday. But the way the cookie has crumbled, few Ireland players have done more to get them this far. A try against Italy, a stormer against England. A triumph of keeping the mind right, come what may.
“I don’t think it has really hit home yet,” he said. “That was just fantastic. A bit hectic at the end but great to hold out and get the win.
“I wouldn’t say it was great craic [to come on so early]. I wasn’t skipping on to the field. It happened so quickly, I didn’t see Seánie [O’Brien] go down and then he stumbled, so it was very quick that I came on. I just had to keep my mind right, be physical and make an impact on the game. Luckily, I got a carry early on and that was a great way to get into the game.”
It was O'Donnell's eighth cap, his fourth Six Nations game. As Joe Schmidt pointed out, it was never part of the plan to play the best part of 80 minutes against Ireland's biggest rivals without O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip. But O'Donnell and Jordi Murphy are poster boys now for the depth in the squad, so much so that you forget sometimes how new this is to them.
Great memory
“During the anthems,” gushed O’Donnell, “my mind flashed back to when I was a kid. A wet Saturday, looking at the telly with the fire roaring beside me. I was just thinking it doesn’t get any better than this, it was fantastic, a great memory to have. One that I will cherish.
“The way it’s gone I’m constantly looking to get better. There’s obviously a couple of flaws there that I want to work on but I would be happy with the performance, to last and come in and make a physical impact at this level is encouraging.”
While Ireland sit top of the Six Nations table for a few reasons, high up the list is the fact that the Les Kiss-drilled defence has been so miserly. They’ve conceded just 23 points in three games, half that of the next best defence. O’Donnell led from the front, making 13 tackles – joint-top of the Irish table with Robbie Henshaw.
“It’s a willingness to work by everyone. If you are on the ground for too long, there is someone telling you to get up. There is just a focus on the next task, you just keep going and keep going. That is a credit to the lads and credit to Les Kiss, the way he gets us, we are constantly scrambling. We are bending, we are not breaking. Fantastic to work with the lads.”
And as for James Haskell’s contention that Ireland got away with murder at the breakdown, O’Donnell was having none of it.
“No, the breakdown was refereed fairly. We were pinged a few times for hands on the ground but I think it might have been a bit harsh. Peter O’Mahony was done a little bit harshly when he was on the ball so the penalties were going both ways. It was definitely a battle at the breakdown. You had to lock on and stay in there to get a penalty at the breakdown so it was definitely a contest.”
