Peter O’Mahony on abandoning tough pre-match rituals, his fraught Munster exit and a new life in gardening
Peter O’Mahony spoke on a quiet evening in Dublin as a new rugby season loomed about abandoning hard-edged pre-match behaviour, his ongoing frustration with how his Munster departure was handled, and his growing interest in gardening and a lifestyle business. The former captain discussed these themes in the context of a new book and his second year of retirement.
O’Mahony, who captained Munster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions and won 114 caps for Ireland, said the uncompromising grit that defined his playing days has been replaced by reflection. “It’s a natural human instinct, especially as an athlete, that you don’t want to lose,” he said. “But at times it got in my way and caused despair. I honestly don’t know where that deep-down hatred came from but it used to derail me at times.” He recalled that just before the 2023 World Cup his young son Theo was upset by his departure and that he would sometimes sit alone in his car crying; he later altered his match-day routine for Munster and would supervise his three children at a playground on the morning of home games.
In his new book O’Mahony outlines a Munster culture that encouraged players to act selfishly and harshly at home to demonstrate commitment for big matches, and he said that mindset had to change when he became a leader. “Rugby is a game of hard men,” he said, and added that, while that approach produced results for him for a time, a leader must “be adaptable to get the best out of others.” He expressed no regret about abandoning the older pre-game rituals: “Was I missing something by not being [selfish]? I don’t think so.”
O’Mahony singled out the coaches he encountered during his career, describing most as intense and obsessive and, with notable exceptions, “a little bit cracked.” He singled out Andy Farrell as an exception, saying Farrell wanted players “to be inquisitive and curious” and that “Andy was able to always get things right, and communicate so well in a hugely pressured environment.” He contrasted Farrell’s communication style with other coaches he played under.
Reflecting on Joe Schmidt’s spell as Ireland head coach, O’Mahony said: “Joe brainwashed us in some ways,” and noted the team’s achievements under Schmidt — winning the Six Nations three times, including the 2018 grand slam, and rising to No 1 in the world rankings — while also acknowledging World Cup shortcomings. He added that Schmidt’s strength was detailed game plans but questioned Schmidt’s ability to communicate off the field; when asked whether Farrell found Schmidt’s regime tough, O’Mahony replied: “No, but I would have thought that it must have been tough for him.”
On Rassie Erasmus, who spent just over a year at Munster before returning to South Africa in 2017, O’Mahony praised his player management and motivational skills and described some of his practical contributions, saying Erasmus “put in a creche so that the partners could come to games.” He also accepted Erasmus’s career move, calling it “business”: “But it’s business. Rassie had a career to look after and when the biggest job for you in the world comes up, of course there’s only one decision to make. He certainly hid it from us, but that’s the way business in life is done.”
O’Mahony described how his own exit from Munster left him hurt after a late-2023 contract silence from the club and comments from coach Graham Rowntree, recounting in his book: "I’ve spent my adult life at the club," O’Mahony writes, "and this is what it’s come down to now: Wig [Rowntree] throwing a pen across the floor for me to fetch like a fucking dog … I knew, as every professional knows, that the end will not necessarily be pleasant, but I couldn’t have imagined it would be handled like this. I thought it was bad business." He said quietly, “It still burns. I’d be lying if I told you anything else,” while also adding, “I love Munster. I still want the club to do well – for the good people there. That will never change.” He said he would offer advice but did not see a place for himself at the moment: “I’d be more than happy to help with advice, and offer some of my experience, as to how to do things a bit better. But I don’t think there’s a place for me there at the moment.”
Since retiring O’Mahony helps Cork Constitution one night a week, enjoys the lower-pressure environment there and has ruled out a professional coaching career, saying simply “No” when asked if coaching more seriously was on the cards. He described his gardening work as therapeutic and commercial: "I’ve set up a gardening lifestyle business and I’m doing a bit of rugby work on TV as well." He joked modestly about TV gardening and about comparisons to Monty Don: “I don’t know about that,” and said he has agreed to “do a gardening book – it would be a bit about our own garden, a bit of what to do in each season or each month”.
Peter O’Mahony’s All In is published by Sandycove/Penguin.