Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HOPE FROM THE ASHES
A DESPONDENT Peter O’mahony hopes that Ireland’s 2019 failings do not define his career.
The Ireland flanker was almost lost for words after Saturday’s brutal World Cup exit but revealed his desire to turn this year’s harsh lessons into success.
O’mahony (arriving home, below) said:
“It’s very important, we’ve always learned from our experiences and you probably learn most from disappointment.
“I certainly hope that it’s not a defining moment for my career but all these experiences and moments in careers are the ones we’ll always look back on for reference for future success hopefully.
“I haven’t had a chance to look back at it but obviously we didn’t perform to where we need to be performing or where we want to be performing.”
It was Johnny Sexton who set the tone as the first to arrive in Dublin for Tuesday’s subdued homecoming, the out-half was out the door to the car park almost in a blink of the eye, presumably in no mood for a hero’s welcome.
O’mahony emerged slouched over his trolley, braced for the media.
But the Munster man gained a second wind when asked about outgoing coach Joe Schmidt’s (below) legacy, painting a brighter picture of the future.
He said: “I think for me he’s changed the prospect and the outlook on rugby for young generations, which is probably the biggest thing you could say about any person’s career.
“There are kids in Ireland now who will be expecting to be successful, expecting to win trophies regularly and there will be a big huge portion of that will be down to Joe’s work and his contribution to Irish rugby.
“Not only has he changed the direction of my career and this team’s career but he’s changed probably the careers of the guys who are in primary and secondary school at the moment. He’s done incredible work.”
But for now the 30-year-old reckons that a World Cup detox is in order before he and his Ireland team-mates are thrown back into the heat of battle with their provinces.
He added: “Yeah, a rest is the main thing at the moment, just to refresh the body, refresh the mind and we’ll see what the story is over the next couple of weeks.”