HEAT IS ON SAYS PETE

O’mahony’s wary of thrashing in decider

PETER O’MAHONY led by example in Melbourne to give Ireland a chance of a historic series win over the Wallabies.

Seven days on, he knows what’s now at stake as the inspirational skipper looks to replicate that performance in Sydney.

Chasing a series win on Aussie soil for the first time in 39 years, he reckons the “fear factor” involved if Joe Schmidt’s side don’t click at the Allianz Stadium can drive the tourists on to a famous victory.

“It has to be right up there,” the Munster captain said. “None of this group has done it. The last time we won a Test here before last weekend was 1979 so that tells you how hard it is to win over here.

“To talk about winning a series over here is up there with one of the biggest challenges in world rugby. We want to go and win but know we’ve got to get our process right, performance is paramount.

“If we don’t put in a performance, we could be well beaten by 30 or 40 points. There is that fear factor for us that if you’re not good, they could put a lot of points on us.”

There is disruption in the Ireland ranks this week caused by injury and a team selection that has five changes from last weekend.

O’mahony himself is affected, given that he has to switch from the blindside to the openside flank as CJ Stander takes the No.6 shirt with Jack Conan at No.8.

What concerns O’mahony more, though, is that the tries scored ratio is heavily in the Wallabies’ favour over the first two Tests, with five coming from Michael Cheika’s outfit compared to just two from Ireland. “I think we have to talk about it,” admitted the 28-year-old. “One of their biggest assets is their ability to play rugby and to strike wide. We know how dangerous they are with the ball. As a result I think our defence needs to step up a notch.”

The occasion also marks the 50th Ireland cap for O’mahony – and prop Jack Mcgrath – but the flanker said: “It’s a hard thing to reflect on when you’re in a series like this. It’s three of the biggest games of your life coming over three consecutive weeks – it’s hard to sit back and think about it.

“That’s not to say I’m taking it for granted, it was a dream to get my first cap.

“And to think I’d be sitting here getting 50 is not something I could have comprehended on that day. It’s certainly a huge honour.”