O’Mahony will be the man for big occasion once again: Schmidt

JOE Schmidt has backed “big-moments player” Peter O’Mahony to deliver again when it matters most in tomorrow’s World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand.

British and Irish Lions flanker O’Mahony has held off the challenge of in-form Rhys Ruddock to start Ireland’s last-eight battle with the All Blacks in Tokyo.

O’Mahony might not top many tackle or carry counts, but head coach Schmidt insisted the 63cap Munster back-rower remains vitally important to Ireland’s approach.

Asked to appraise O’Mahony’s influence given those statistical anomalies, Schmidt expanded on the talismanic loose-forward’s specific role, and harked back to a top-level showing in Ireland’s 16-9 win over New Zealand in November.

“He brings a leadership and experience, and he’s a very effective line-out operator for us,” said Schmidt of O’Mahony.

“Part of it is the structure, the way that he ends up across the width of the pitch. He tends to be playing in the wider channels, and therefore he’s not as involved as some of the other players who are closer in.

“I think stats always tell part of the story but they don’t tell the complete picture. There are things he can add for us that we think will be really important.

“He saved our bacon the last time we played the All Blacks with an exceptional turn and chase and the long arms that he reached out just to pluck the ball in front of Ben Smith, who would have scored for certain if Pete hadn’t got back and saved that.

“I think he won two balls on the ground in that game for us as well, and that’s important.

“So he has been a bit of a big-moments player for us; maybe not as many moments, but the big moments, they count.”

Rob Kearney has edged out Jordan Larmour to return and start at full-back, with boss Schmidt effectively selecting his strongest starting XV.

Bundee Aki’s absence through suspension allows Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose to reprise their Leinster centre combination at Test level once again.

Schmidt admitted Larmour had been close to selection, with the Leinster speedster taking a seat on the bench.

“There were half a dozen reasonably tight decisions,” said Schmidt. “You can’t guarantee you’ve got any decision right until the game is completed.

“Chris Farrell has been very good for us, really come on and made an influential impact against Scotland.

“Andrew Conway has been very good too, and so the outside backs have been a bit of a conundrum.

“We’ve tried to add up as best we can the combinations we think that will best serve us.

“The unfortunate thing about selecting a 23 to play the All Blacks is that they can play well and still not get the result.

“That’s the quality the All Blacks have.

“But these players, they’ve had some very successful experiences together and contributed to a fair bit of history for us.”

GIVEN that the All Blacks have won their last 18 consecutive games which Nigel Owens has been in charge of, it is no wonder they were pleased when he was appointed as referee for tomorrow’s World Cup quarter-final.

That the Welsh official has overseen three New Zealand-Ireland clashes, and the All Blacks have won all three, will have Joe Schmidt on high alert this week.

The Irish players are well used to Owens from both their time with Ireland and their clubs.

Whenever Owens is in charge of a game, it is generally fast and very, very loose. That will play right into New Zealand’s hands, so from that end Ireland have to be on their guard in and around the breakdown.

“Obviously we had Nigel in 2013, it’s not a great memory for us,” Schmidt admitted. “But Nigel has been at the top of world refereeing for a long time, and you’ve got to respect that.

“You are a very isolated individual on a rugby pitch. It’s very easy to pick holes in people who are doing their job.

“We’ll catch up with Nigel before kick-off and ask him whether there’s anything he’s seen in our game that we just need to be careful of.

“Because we want to make sure we maintain a really positive discipline into this game. And apart from that, we’d have a fair bit of respect for him.”

Then there is Owens’ personality, which, let’s face it, is one of the biggest in the game. Most