SHORTLY AFTER HE had orchestrated the penalty try which set Munster on their way to an emphatic Guinness Pro14 victory on Friday night, Peter O’Mahony produced a moment of pure athleticism, tenacity and power which truly heralded his comeback.
As Ospreys looked for an instant riposte, Cory Allen tested Munster’s defence out wide with an arching run but just as it appeared the centre had straightened enough to cruise through a gap, O’Mahony made good ground to his right to wrap the Welsh international up.
O’Mahony made an impressive return to action on Friday. Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland
Once he effected the initial tackle, O’Mahony was straight back on his feet, releasing Allen on the floor to counter-ruck ferociously and clear the supporting Luke Morgan out, allowing Mike Haley to secure the turnover inside the Munster 22.
It not only shut the door on the Ospreys but had the Musgrave Park crowd on their feet, the sight of Munster’s captain doing what he does best generating the biggest roar of the night until Joey Carbery danced through at the other end.
In his first appearance since June’s final Test against Australia, O’Mahony showed no sign of early-season rust as Munster’s dynamic and powerful back row of the Ireland international, the fit-again Chris Cloete and new arrival Arno Botha dominated on both sides of the ball.
Munster’s supremacy up-front, and indeed at the set-piece, allowed Duncan Williams feed Carbery with quick ball as the hosts’ exciting backline — led by the 22-year-old out-half — causing havoc on the newly-laid 3G surface.
In running in seven tries on a hugely encouraging night, Munster showed exciting glimpses of their considerable firepower, no more than in the engine room with O’Mahony — in the shape of his life — leading from the front.
“He’s a fantastic captain,” Johann van Graan said. “The way he managed the referee and how we adapted to the referee. He was itching to play the last two weeks and with those internationals returning, we just had to keep them back because they were keen to go.
“He just really wanted to hit the ground running on Friday night and he’s such an important player for us. That’s why we took quite a few guys off [in the second half] Peter is in some of the best fitness form of his life, the way he ran in the fitness test and he’s working hard in the gym.
“The way he has led in the last few weeks even when he wasn’t playing was impressive.”
With O’Mahony, Cloete, Botha and Tadhg Beirne winning the battle in the trenches, Munster were able to maintain a level of control on proceedings throughout the 80 minutes, unlike during their disappointing defeat to Glasgow Warriors a week previous.
The 18th-minute penalty try set the southern province on their way before Carbery, James Cronin and Rhys Marshall all crossed before the break to seal the bonus point and effectively settle the contest.
MOTM Chris Cloete made a big impact on his return. Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland
While his side were able to turn on the style by scoring three further scores after the break, van Graan was most pleased by his side’s defence and work on the ground as they blew a poor Ospreys side away.
“It’s something [poaching] that we’ve been working on and credit to our wide backs, I thought our pressure in the wide channels on D was pretty good.
“Guy like Sweets [Sweetnam], Sammy [Arnold] and Andrew [Conway] were good on the edge and that slows the ball down for a few more seconds and I thought we came off the line really well and got them behind the gain line and then your poachers come into the game.
“Again I impressed by the decision-making, I know we got penalised once or twice, but we won a lot more than we conceded.”
Certainly it was a night when the returning internationals — O’Mahony and Conway included — provided the province with a major fillip, but also the new stars who have hit the ground running in red at the start of the campaign were at the fore.
Carbery produced the sort of controlling performance in the 10 jersey his talent has always promised, marking his first Munster start with a maiden try, while Beirne and Botha were outstanding and Haley continues to make plenty of positive contributions.