FEW SIGHTS RILE Scotland’s players as much as Peter O’Mahony.
If they are to end their 10-game losing streak against Ireland on Sunday, the Scots would certainly take some glee in letting O’Mahony know all about it.
The Cork man has been in Scottish faces more times than we can count. He gets stuck into most teams, but his Celtic cousins seem to evoke an extra edge from the Ireland blindside flanker. In fairness, they usually give as good as they get.
Simon Easterby has sprung a surprise selection by bringing O’Mahony into his starting XV to face Scotland at Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon. The 35-year-old didn’t feature in the matchday 23 for last weekend’s bonus-point win against England but his race is not over at Test level.
It was hard to miss O’Mahony out on the pitch last Saturday as he took an energetic part in Ireland’s warm-up, helping the reserve players to get the starting XV ready. It sounds like he was a ferocious presence on the training pitch during the build-up too. He remains a big leader in this group.
O’Mahony was even spotted taping up Robbie Henshaw’s boots for him in the changing room after Ireland’s warm-up and before they reemerged for the anthems. O’Mahony was still out of breath from doing his fitness hit after the warm-up and had to steady himself as he stood up from helping Henshaw. Anything for the team.
Now, O’Mahony will get the chance to directly influence things on the pitch as he gets set to win his 111th Ireland cap. He hasn’t played much rugby in recent months, with just one appearance for Munster since 13 December but Easterby has total trust in him.
As ever, O’Mahony’s lineout skills will be important. Ireland had a 100% return on their 23 lineout throws against England last weekend but they will have been realistic about how true a barometer that was of their progress.
England picked a pack with just one elite lineout jumper in Maro Itoje, so the defence was limited. Ireland threw to the front of the lineout 19 times and generally ran shortened five-man lineouts to keep things simple.
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Ryan Baird moves to the bench. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
On two occasions when Ireland tried to be more ambitious, they were lucky. It looked like Dan Sheehan had failed to connect with Jack Conan on one longer throw but Itoje was harshly penalised for a push. Replacement Ollie Chessum stole an underthrow on another occasion but England were pinged for closing the gap.
So Ireland know there is plenty of room for improvement and certainly for more variety in their lineout and maul, which never got going against a determined English resistance. O’Mahony will play a big part in that effort.
Ryan Baird, who started at blindside flanker last weekend, moves to the bench. He had impressive moments against England, including a big surge down the right-hand side leading to Marcus Smith’s yellow card and sharp lineout work on both sides of the ball.
Baird was prominent in some of the excellent lineout defence against the English, but O’Mahony is a proven presence in that regard.
There were errors from Baird too, most notably the blatant offside penalty when he was retreating and smashed Alex Mitchell. It gave England access to Ireland’s 22 early in the second half.
Those are the kind of moments Baird has been trying to cut out of his game but there’s no doubt he has been an excellent impact replacement for Ireland, so he returns to that role against the Scots, covering second row and blindside flanker as Iain Henderson misses out on the matchday 23.
Henderson’s absence means there are no Ulster players in the squad, a low point for the northern province and another sign of the work that IRFU performance director David Humphreys has to lead.
The Irish bench includes Sheehan and Conan again after both put their hands up for a start by making explosive impacts in the second half against the English.
As Sheehan said himself this week, it makes sense for his minutes to be managed as he continues his return from a long-term knee injury. But there’s also the fact that Rónan Kelleher had one of his best games for Ireland last weekend. He was outstanding at hooker, winning collisions, winning scraps, and nailing his set-piece work.
Sam Prendergast continues at out-half for Ireland and that’s no surprise following Easterby’s positive review of his performance last weekend. The 21-year-old recovered from errors early in the game to show his exciting range of passing, as well as his composure to land an important 45-metre penalty to give Ireland the lead before he handed the reins over to Jack Crowley.
Prendergast starts at number 10 again. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
One senses that Prendergast’s distribution will be well suited to the Scottish defence, while Crowley is now a proven force off the bench for Ireland. It might not happen but it would be interesting to see Prendergast and Crowley in the same Irish backline, scheming in tandem.
Crowley can play at inside centre and fullback, moving to both positions during Munster games again this season. He has done the same in the past for Ireland in the past, but his primary job is to be ready to make an impact at out-half for the third Test in a row.
Garry Ringrose is also part of the Irish bench, with Robbie Henshaw swapping into the starting XV for this weekend after his positive impression as a replacement against the English.
There was nothing wrong with Ringrose’s performance and the reality is that Ireland have three top-tier centres who will likely continue to rotate in this manner. Regardless of the pair who start, the combinations are a huge strength for Easterby’s side.
This exciting Irish bench could be important, with the fact that Jamie Osborne misses out again despite his excellent form for province and country underlining that Ireland have depth in some areas. Osborne is a serious talent who is pushing hard for further opportunities.
It was always unlikely that Ireland would make sweeping changes to their matchday 23 after getting up and running with a bonus-point victory on the opening weekend of the Six Nations. That brings momentum, a precious commodity in this championship.
But encouragingly for their fans, Ireland have been honest about their performance against the English. There was pride in plenty of it but self-criticism over the shaky start and sleepy finish to the game.
Their sense is that they can kick things up another gear in Edinburgh.
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Easterby springs a surprise with POM's return to face the Scots
FEW SIGHTS RILE Scotland’s players as much as Peter O’Mahony.
If they are to end their 10-game losing streak against Ireland on Sunday, the Scots would certainly take some glee in letting O’Mahony know all about it.
The Cork man has been in Scottish faces more times than we can count. He gets stuck into most teams, but his Celtic cousins seem to evoke an extra edge from the Ireland blindside flanker. In fairness, they usually give as good as they get.
Simon Easterby has sprung a surprise selection by bringing O’Mahony into his starting XV to face Scotland at Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon. The 35-year-old didn’t feature in the matchday 23 for last weekend’s bonus-point win against England but his race is not over at Test level.
It was hard to miss O’Mahony out on the pitch last Saturday as he took an energetic part in Ireland’s warm-up, helping the reserve players to get the starting XV ready. It sounds like he was a ferocious presence on the training pitch during the build-up too. He remains a big leader in this group.
O’Mahony was even spotted taping up Robbie Henshaw’s boots for him in the changing room after Ireland’s warm-up and before they reemerged for the anthems. O’Mahony was still out of breath from doing his fitness hit after the warm-up and had to steady himself as he stood up from helping Henshaw. Anything for the team.
Now, O’Mahony will get the chance to directly influence things on the pitch as he gets set to win his 111th Ireland cap. He hasn’t played much rugby in recent months, with just one appearance for Munster since 13 December but Easterby has total trust in him.
As ever, O’Mahony’s lineout skills will be important. Ireland had a 100% return on their 23 lineout throws against England last weekend but they will have been realistic about how true a barometer that was of their progress.
England picked a pack with just one elite lineout jumper in Maro Itoje, so the defence was limited. Ireland threw to the front of the lineout 19 times and generally ran shortened five-man lineouts to keep things simple.
On two occasions when Ireland tried to be more ambitious, they were lucky. It looked like Dan Sheehan had failed to connect with Jack Conan on one longer throw but Itoje was harshly penalised for a push. Replacement Ollie Chessum stole an underthrow on another occasion but England were pinged for closing the gap.
So Ireland know there is plenty of room for improvement and certainly for more variety in their lineout and maul, which never got going against a determined English resistance. O’Mahony will play a big part in that effort.
Ryan Baird, who started at blindside flanker last weekend, moves to the bench. He had impressive moments against England, including a big surge down the right-hand side leading to Marcus Smith’s yellow card and sharp lineout work on both sides of the ball.
Baird was prominent in some of the excellent lineout defence against the English, but O’Mahony is a proven presence in that regard.
There were errors from Baird too, most notably the blatant offside penalty when he was retreating and smashed Alex Mitchell. It gave England access to Ireland’s 22 early in the second half.
Those are the kind of moments Baird has been trying to cut out of his game but there’s no doubt he has been an excellent impact replacement for Ireland, so he returns to that role against the Scots, covering second row and blindside flanker as Iain Henderson misses out on the matchday 23.
Henderson’s absence means there are no Ulster players in the squad, a low point for the northern province and another sign of the work that IRFU performance director David Humphreys has to lead.
The Irish bench includes Sheehan and Conan again after both put their hands up for a start by making explosive impacts in the second half against the English.
As Sheehan said himself this week, it makes sense for his minutes to be managed as he continues his return from a long-term knee injury. But there’s also the fact that Rónan Kelleher had one of his best games for Ireland last weekend. He was outstanding at hooker, winning collisions, winning scraps, and nailing his set-piece work.
Sam Prendergast continues at out-half for Ireland and that’s no surprise following Easterby’s positive review of his performance last weekend. The 21-year-old recovered from errors early in the game to show his exciting range of passing, as well as his composure to land an important 45-metre penalty to give Ireland the lead before he handed the reins over to Jack Crowley.
One senses that Prendergast’s distribution will be well suited to the Scottish defence, while Crowley is now a proven force off the bench for Ireland. It might not happen but it would be interesting to see Prendergast and Crowley in the same Irish backline, scheming in tandem.
Crowley can play at inside centre and fullback, moving to both positions during Munster games again this season. He has done the same in the past for Ireland in the past, but his primary job is to be ready to make an impact at out-half for the third Test in a row.
Garry Ringrose is also part of the Irish bench, with Robbie Henshaw swapping into the starting XV for this weekend after his positive impression as a replacement against the English.
There was nothing wrong with Ringrose’s performance and the reality is that Ireland have three top-tier centres who will likely continue to rotate in this manner. Regardless of the pair who start, the combinations are a huge strength for Easterby’s side.
This exciting Irish bench could be important, with the fact that Jamie Osborne misses out again despite his excellent form for province and country underlining that Ireland have depth in some areas. Osborne is a serious talent who is pushing hard for further opportunities.
It was always unlikely that Ireland would make sweeping changes to their matchday 23 after getting up and running with a bonus-point victory on the opening weekend of the Six Nations. That brings momentum, a precious commodity in this championship.
But encouragingly for their fans, Ireland have been honest about their performance against the English. There was pride in plenty of it but self-criticism over the shaky start and sleepy finish to the game.
Their sense is that they can kick things up another gear in Edinburgh.
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Six Nations Ireland Scotland Selection Simon Easterby six nations 2025 spice