PETER O’Mahony may still be an elite athlete mere weeks off his retirement…but he’s still susceptible to the tricky tasks posed at water parks.
He, wife Jessica and their three children are currently enjoying a sun-kissed holiday which meant a day splashing around one was a natural addition to the itinerary.
‘If he murders me, I probably wouldn’t blame him’[/caption]
He may have wanted to after she posted his calamitous falls[/caption]
Which were soundtracked by her cackling with laughter[/caption]
Even rugby tough guys are reduced to clinging on for dear life[/caption]
But while he may have been adept at maintaining his balance hitting countless scrums over the years, his sea legs weren’t quite so sturdy while trying to negotiate a Takeshi’s Castle-like challenge.
While the 35-year-old is living the carefree life this week, many of his longtime Ireland teammates are facing into the serious business of the British and Irish Lions’ first Test versus Australia.
Johnny Sexton is one, although admittedly he won’t have to face them on the pitch during Saturday’s encounter.
But nonetheless, Andy Farrell’s kicking coach sounded the alarm earlier this week that former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt will have the Wallabies ready to give them a stern welcome.
Sexton won two Champions Cups and three Six Nations titles in nine years under the Australia chief playing for Ireland and Leinster.
The Wallabies struggled to beat Fiji 21-18 last weekend but Sexton reckons the Kiwi — who also helped New Zealand reach the 2023 World Cup final — could play a joker in Brisbane.
He said: “We know how good he is at preparing teams.
“But he’s been gone six years so you’d like to think that Joe would have evolved, changed his ways and learned from that time with the All Blacks.
“Some of the things he is big on haven’t changed, you can clearly see that.
“But we’ve only seen them for one game and we know, for sure, that Joe likes to set things up and what he showed against Fiji will be very different from what he shows against the Lions.”
Sexton, who won Down Under with the 2013 Lions, has been working with Farrell’s kickers, including the likely Test fly-half Finn Russell, while being a sounding board for any players who need advice.
He added: “Finn’s played very well. He’s controlled things, been composed and place-kicked very well.
“It is about helping these guys out; whether it is the No 10s, the kickers . . . or if Maro Itoje needs certain things.
“He hasn’t asked me about dealing with the refs yet! I’m still waiting, and I might be waiting a long time. Maybe he’ll ask on the plane, on the way home!”
