TWELVE YEARS AGO Peter O’Mahony joined Simon Zebo on a trip to Bandon RFC to present medals at the club’s end of season awards. It was a day a young Jack Crowley, 12-years-old at the time, wouldn’t forget in a hurry, the moment he met the Munster stars captured in a brilliant photograph which did the rounds on social media again this week.
Tonight Crowley and O’Mahony start together as Ireland teammates as Andy Farrell’s side dive into a new Six Nations campaign. The new Ireland captain admits he doesn’t quite recall that visit to Bandon over a decade ago, but certainly recalls hearing about the exciting young 10 coming through the ranks in Cork who tonight in Marseille, starts a Six Nations game for the first time.
“I don’t remember back that far at the time but I remember him [Crowley] playing for [Cork] Con and getting reports he was the real deal,” O’Mahony says.
Incredible photo here, as 12-year-old Jack Crowley met @Munsterrugby stars - his future team-mates - Peter O'Mahony & @SimonZebo at @bandonrfc end-of-season awards in 2012. Now look where Jack is, heading to World Cup alongside O'Mahony.
— Kieran McCarthy (@KieranMcC_SS) August 30, 2023
📸 Thanks to Damien Healy of Bandon RFC pic.twitter.com/MXu1fx3vjf
“Fast forward a few years and here we are. He’s obviously grown and learned a huge amount. What a way to start off your career, under Johnny [Sexton], and others as well, under guys like Joey [Carbery] and Ross [Byrne], like loads of guys I’m sure he’s learned a huge amount from.
“An unbelievable man to learn the game, watch the game. Himself and Craig [Casey], I don’t know what they’d be doing but they’d be at the HPC for hours on end, be it recovering, on laptops, doing extras in the gym. They’re just unbelievable professionals.
“He had a bit to learn and he’s done that and he’s plenty to go as well but he knows that better than anyone and that’s a good sign of a professional. I’m delighted for him and I’m sure he’ll put in a huge performance for us as well.
“It’s a big occasion and we need big players and he’s certainly one of them.”
It’s also a big occasion for O’Mahony, who spoke thoughtfully about how has tried to embrace his promotion to captain after yesterday’s Captain’s Run in Marseille.
The Corkman first captained Munster at the age of just 21 but feels much has changed in terms of how he now approaches his leadership duties, while also stressing he’s a very different man to the one who took on the role with Munster at such a young age.
“A different animal altogether, for lots of reasons. The game moves on, I think leadership moves on, people move on, people’s circumstances change, different experiences.
“That all adds to what you are here now and it’s changed me a huge amount as a person and as a leader. I often look back and think: ‘What were you thinking?’ But rugby was a different game from what it is now, a different sport, so a different animal.”
The 34-year-old stepped down as Munster captain before Christmas and contemplated his international future before Farrell picked up the phone and asked him to be his captain.
It’s different to club captaincy because with the club you’re week in, week out and you’ve not just the pitch stuff to worry about, you’ve other stuff and you’re constantly meeting up.
“Whereas this, this group, and meeting up internationally, you kind of hit windows of it, Six Nations and Novembers or whatever. It’s down to the fact you’re living with each other so, like, we were on the flight yesterday [Wednesday] and you can have a little meeting on the flight. That’s more difficult when you’re all heading off home or whatever afterwards in the club.
“So logistically it’s different and obviously stakes are higher. This is the highest level of rugby and that’s no disrespect to provincial rugby or club rugby, it’s the biggest of them all, the biggest stage. Stakes are higher.”
Time to rise to the occasion.