Munster’s interim head coach Ian Costello confirmed after his side’s 38-24 loss to an All Blacks XV that Peter O’Mahony’s removal at half-time was preordained. The flanker suffered no adverse reaction on his comeback from a hamstring injury before linking up with the rest of the Ireland squad ahead of their opening Test match of their Autumn Nations Series against the All Blacks next Friday evening in the Aviva Stadium.
“We were delighted that Peter was available to us for the week and the medical advice was 40 minutes. When I told him he was coming off at half-time I was worried about his reaction, but thankfully, he took it calmly and he concurred with medical advice,” said Costello with a smile.
“I thought he might make a scene, but he didn’t.
O’Mahony put in a big shift for his 40 minutes on the pitch, which was at least as much in his desire to help his province in such a prestigious fixture in front of a 26,267 full house as it was proving his fitness to Andy Farrell.
“I thought he was excellent,” ventured Costello. “I’d have to watch the video back to look at the small bits and pieces. But you know, Diarmuid [Barron] captaining the side, Peter’s leadership, it’s hard to equate what they do in a week like this, any big week. The leadership they showed from start to finish, how they make others around them feel.
“Sometimes you can pick a player because they do X and Y, when you pick Peter, there’s four or five black shirts probably targeting Peter, which frees up four or five other guys, and how he makes others feel around him. It’s probably one of the most impressive things about him.”
Costello had said on Thursday that he wanted this team to play the occasion and not just the game, and he lauded his players for doing exactly that.
“It was an incredible occasion. We had prepared for it, we talked about it, you think you know what to expect and then you come to a full Thomond Park and give the crowd something to identify with like that and get involved in. It was incredible.
“I think we talked about playing the occasion, and the lads talked about playing with freedom, and we really wanted to enjoy it.
It’s really strange because we’re gutted. At 76 minutes it was right there for us to make history, but it’s hard to stay gutted for long when you get a performance like that.”
Munster resiliently stayed in the fight, exchanging four tries apiece with their vaunted and skilful opponents before two late tries put an unfair and flattering gloss on the final scoreline.
But Costello maintained: “The scoreboard is kind of irrelevant. You won’t hear us say that too often. Tonight was about the performance.
We had a lineout on the halfway line with five minutes to go, we lose the lineout, they score, they’re a clinical side. But tonight’s not about them, it’s about us pulling together as a club this week.
“And not just saying we’d do it, but it was quality in terms of the preparation. The players and coaches did an incredible job, and there’s a lot of satisfaction in producing a performance like that, even though ultimately we came up a little bit short.
“There was a lot to build on, and there were six academy lads out there as well, four of them in a pack at the end winning a scrum. That’s a nice little taste of the future hopefully.”
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