Peter O’Mahony says being booed by Scottish fans was “one of the biggest compliments of my career” after he helped Ireland to a resounding Six Nations win at Murrayfield on Sunday.
Having been left out of the squad for Ireland’s win over England, the Munster flanker returned to the Irish pack for a dominant victory in Edinburgh that keeps Simon Easterby’s side on track for a third straight title.
And the 35-year-old was wholly unperturbed by the boos that greeted him as he exited the field while being replaced early in the second half.
“I don’t know what it is,” he told reporters on Sunday when asked why he relishes facing Scotland.
“It’s competitive. Look, we’ve had the Glasgow thing [with Munster] for a long time. Every time it’s a battle.
“I think someone said I got a fairly savage boo when I came off, potentially one of the biggest compliments of my career, in 111 Test matches, so thanks Murrayfield, I appreciate it.”
When asked if he heard the boos at the time, O’Mahony – who also thanked Scottish fans in an Instagram post on Monday – added: “No, I didn’t, but I’ll take it.”
O’Mahony has been one of the chief protagonists in Ireland and Scotland’s rivalry in recent years and was at the centre of a fiery World Cup encounter in Paris in 2023.
He did not start any of Ireland’s autumn Tests in November and said he “loved” his return to the team on Sunday as the Six Nations holders secured an 11th straight win over Scotland.
“I’m a broken record saying it’s a huge honour to be picked for Ireland, but I loved that today I have to say, loved it,” said the former Ireland captain.
“I thought we had a really good first half, first 10-15 minutes we spoke about our start. After the second half we felt like we were all over them so I enjoyed that.”
A battle-hardened Test centurion with five Six Nations titles to his name, O’Mahony also knew better than to big up Ireland’s chances with three games still remaining.
After visiting Wales on 22 February, Ireland host pre-tournament favourites France in Dublin on 8 March before finishing the campaign away to Italy a week later.
“Of course we know what’s at stake,” he said.
“As I spoke about [earlier], you get ahead of things and something goes wrong.
“We’ll have an evening off and a few days off, then back in the camp and we’ve a big lead into another big game against Wales.”
