‘Munster mongrel’ top captaincy contender
Peter O'Mahony, the Ireland flanker, has emerged as the leading contender to captain the British and Irish Lions in the opening test match against the All Blacks on Saturday as his leadership skills were endorsed by assistant coach Andy Farrell.
O'Mahony looked to have sealed his place in the starting back row to face the All Blacks at Eden Park after captaining the Lions to an impressive victory over the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua last Saturday.
Farrell said yesterday he would be “more than comfortable” if the 27-year-old Cork man was given the job.
“To be honest, it’d be the easiest team to captain because there are so many leaders out there,” Farrell said.
Significantly, head coach Warren Gatland has been impressed by O'Mahony's “Munster mongrel” warrior spirit during the tour.
There remains an outside chance Sam Warburton may yet be promoted to the side, possibly even in O'Mahony's position at six given Sean O'Brien's outstanding form against the Maori side. Alun Wyn Jones is another contender, having captained the Lions in their victory over the Crusaders but it is all but certain that the starting locks will now be Maro Itoje and George Kruis.
Owen Farrell, who will start at first-five having shaken off his quad injury, could also come under consideration but with little experience of captaincy on the test stage, Gatland may decide the Saracens first fiveeighth already has enough responsibility in running the game to be burdened with leadership duties. Meanwhile, Andy Farrell has fired a warning to the All Blacks, claiming the Lions were ready to “take ourselves to a place individually we've not been to before” in a rallying call similar to his famous “hurt arena” speech to the players ahead of the third test against Australia in Sydney four years ago. “It's going to be a hell of a game,” Farrell said. “Physically, I don't think we've disappointed so far. Will we need to up our game? Certainly we will do. I think we're going to have to take ourselves to a place that individually we've not been to before. But the boys realise that and are excited by that challenge.”
Asked if Farrell felt the Lions would have enough defensive firepower to put this All Blacks side under more pressure than they had ever experienced before, he added: “Hopefully, but there's no doubt that they'll be saying the same thing and again it's who balances that out well in the heat of the battle, isn't it? Who deals with the pressure best, who deals with the situation and makes the best decisions on the run. We have to be careful of not overcoaching. We've got to be careful of making sure the plan is crystal clear so they can be on point come Saturday.”