HE’S BEEN THE centre of attention all week and as the Ireland squad began to emerge from the tunnel for this morning’s Captain’s Run at the Stade Vélodrome, Joe McCarthy was the first man out of the blocks.
The Leinster lock is one of three Irish players (along with Jack Crowley and Calvin Nash) set for a first Six Nations start in tomorrow night’s tournament opener against France [KO 8pm Irish time], Andy Farrell deciding his eye-catching run of form with Leinster was deserving of a place in his starting team, at the expense of James Ryan.
Farrell has described the 22-year-old as “a young fella on a mission” and new Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony is equally confident the second row is ready to rise to the occasion in Marseille.
“Look, obviously the performances that you’ve seen is the energy he’s bringing,” O’Mahony says.
“Big, athletic, what a man to do extras, to learn. He’s been in a bit now and you can see every camp he’s been to you can see he’s picking stuff up and he’s learning, he’s a young man eager to learn and perform and play well and impress and that’s exactly what he’s done.
Destructive would be a word I’d use for him but loves the game, is a great man to have around, is great craic and has really added to the squad in more ways than just rugby.”
McCarthy’s presence will bring power and dynamism to an Ireland pack who will need a massive collective performance to get on top of their hosts.
O’Mahony will be at the heart of the effort on what will be a special night for the Munster flanker, who heads into his first game since succeeding Johnny Sexton as Ireland captain.
The two had “a good chat” a few weeks ago and O’Mahony admits he’ll look to blend elements of Sexton’s leadership style into his own way of doing things as captain.
“I’d be shocked if you asked anybody in that dressing room who played with Johnny if they hadn’t picked up something from him – as I’ve done from all the leaders I’ve come across in my career.
“That’s kind of what the game is about, learning and being diligent and picking stuff up off guys who have figured it out, and he certainly was one of them.
“I’m lucky enough to say I’ve come across lots of those guys who at that time in their careers, figured it out. It would be a huge remiss of me or anyone who played with them to not have picked up a huge amount from them.
“Obviously I’ve been very close to him [Sexton] for a long time and for rugby reasons, but we’d be in touch for many other reasons. I had a good chat with him a few weeks ago and he’s in good form, I can report.”
O’Mahony has captained teams throughout his career but leading Ireland in the Six Nations brings different pressures and stresses. The 34-year-old says he’s been conscious of embracing this latest career milestone and when asked if he feels more pressure to personally deliver a result as Ireland captain, explained why he’s better equipped to deal with such challenges at this stage of his career.
I think the immature version of me would have said yes, but I’ve plenty of miles on the clock at the moment and with that brings experience.
“I’ve a great group of people around me, a great coaching staff and playing group.
“We all feel the pressure of delivering a performance for Ireland, every time you’re picked it’s not just an honour but it’s a huge responsibility. We all feel that, it doesn’t matter if you’re captain or travelling reserve. You feel a responsibility to deliver for the jersey and that’s goes for us all.”
Ireland will be up against it against a much-changed, albeit formidable French side, and O’Mahony added that the team’s World Cup quarter-final exit last October won’t be hanging over the squad as they look to kick-off a new campaign with a statement win.
“Performance is paramount for every Test match. We’re not trying to prove a point to ourselves about what happened [at the World Cup], we’re trying to prove to ourselves where this team is at, where we want to go, setting up momentum.
“It’s not about putting things right or whatever, it’s about a Test match tomorrow night. That’s what the occasion is and that’s the most important thing for us.
“Performance is absolutely paramount. It’s what everyone is here to do, be the best version of themselves and that’s what we’ll try do tomorrow night.”