O’Mahony putting ‘strange’ reaction to Six Nations behind him and slots back into big-game mode

THE GAME IS too big, the point of the season too pivotal for Peter O’Mahony to let his mind linger on Ireland’s struggles during the Six Nations.

The Corkman is pretty well disposed to moving on from battle to battle anyway, but there’s nothing like a European quarter-final, away from home against a coming force in the Pro14, to draw the focus and sharpen the mind.

“I don’t find it particularly hard (to readjust),” he says with a shrug at Munster’s UL training base.

“It’s too big a week not just to slot back in or hang around and kind of act differently or be quiet, because it’s knockout in Europe.

“These are the games you want to be involved in and hopefully, whoever gets picked, it’s just a massive, massive week for the club.

“I’d be doing myself an injustice if I didn’t come back in and just be myself along with all the other guys who have been away the last few weeks. We’ve just got to get back in and carry on as if we’ve been here all the time.”

Besides, O’Mahony isn’t exactly accepting of the criticism levelled Ireland’s way over the past two months. For most in and around Carton House in that time, the view and stance is that fine margins were not shaded this time around, while last year they ticked every last box.

“They have probably been the in-form team this season, with regards to some of the performances. They have one loss this year at home to Cardiff Blues, and it was only by a couple of points. They have made it very difficult to go and get a win over there.

“They have a very impressive set-piece both sides of the ball, scrum and line-out. We probably say it about every game but it is going to be particularly important this weekend. The battle of the line-out and the scrum. They are very impressive in both areas.

However prepared Munster will be as they travel, there could be a rude awakening in store, in a very real sense, with an unsociably early 12.45 kick-off..

“It is a little bit more challenging than whatever, 3pm or 4pm,” O’Mahony admits before flicking right back to get-on-with-it mode.

“It’s like a training day really. We start (training) in here early, obviously, we just kind of emulate that all week. It’s not a big deal really. The S&C guys and nutritionists will have that side of it figured out. But we have been in more of these kick-offs than most people in this competition for whatever reason.