FOR ANY PLAYER returning from shoulder surgery, the first hit is always made with a hint of trepidation.
The fact that Saturday evening saw Peter O’Mahony make his first Munster appearance since double shoulder reconstruction meant there wasn’t even a ‘good’ side to get started with.
The Munster captain admits it was “mentally daunting” launching himself back into contact having not played since April, when he dislocated his left shoulder in the Heineken Cup clash with Toulouse at Thomond Park.
O’Mahony jokes that he was handed the ideal opportunity to make his first hit during Munster’s win over Leinster.
“Right shoulder, first hit on [Ian] Madigan, which to be fair is soft enough!
No, but you can do a bit during the week but it’s not like a game. No matter what you do and no matter who you do it against, you can’t simulate a game. It was good to just get back in and get a couple of bangs and bruises and feel a bit sore the next day.”
O’Mahony says his “lungs nearly exploded” over the course of a 17-minute cameo, but the sight of the back row bossing a line-out maul and celebrating vigorously at the final whistle will have buoyed Munster supporters.
In terms of the win over Leinster, O’Mahony hopes this is a launchpad for the remainder of Munster’s season, as they prepare to host the Scarlets on Friday night at Thomond Park.
“I won’t play it down,” says the Ireland international. “It’s obviously hugely important. The local derbies are obviously big. Leinster have been getting the better of us for the last few years, so it’s good to come away with a win.
“In the broader scheme of things, it was important for us to get the win. We’ve had a couple of home losses, which we’re not happy about at all. It’s just not like us to be losing like that at home.
We need to back up our performance now, which we haven’t done for the last couple of seasons. We’ve had some good performances backed up by poor ones. I think our focus now is to back up a good performance with a better one.”
While O’Mahony pointed to the scrum as an area where Munster will look to improve in the coming weeks, as well as stating that the four yellow cards against Leinster were “upsetting,” he was pleased by his side’s attacking play in the first half.
Anthony Foley’s men were direct, confrontational and aggressive in the carry, as well as feral at the breakdown. That’s the blueprint O’Mahony feels can drive them to further progress.
“We do a lot of training on that kind of rugby and it was good to see us being accurate. Not all the time – we had a poor couple of phases of play.
“But it was good to see guys doing what we’re practicing, guys doing their role and getting their detail nailed on. It was definitely hugely positive, but we’ve got to kick it on and have better performances again.”
