Ireland's Six Nations captain, Peter O'Mahony, has admitted that he considered retiring from international rugby after the Rugby World Cup.
Ireland was narrowly beaten by eventual finalists New Zealand at the tournament, and the defeat was also the end for a number of Ireland players in October.
Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls called time on their Ireland careers, while there had been speculation around O'Mahony's future and if he had the appropriate to continue on the international stage. However, the Munster legend was handed the Irish armband by Andy Farrell last week, which all but confirmed his stay with Ireland for the 2024 Six Nations.
When asked if he considered hanging up his boots, the 34-year-old Cork native said, "Yeah, it was; it certainly was.
"It was a tough few weeks after that, but it wasn't the right time to make any calls given the circumstances, and I haven't thought about it. It came around there, where I was getting back into Munster stuff and the normality after the whole thing.
"I was enjoying it again. To get a phone call like the one I got last week is a very special one, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to represent my country again.
"In hindsight, it wouldn't have been the most pleasant way to leave the jersey where we did end up."
There had been a number of candidates linked to the Ireland captaincy after Sexton's departure and O'Mahony's selection. The likes of Caelen Doris, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, and others were all in the hat until O'Mahony was picked.
When asked if he expected to be handed the armband by Farrell, the Munster captain added he wasn't but also admitted he was "honoured" to be selected.
Peter O'Mahony considered retirement (Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images).jpeg“I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest,” said O’Mahony at the Six Nations launch at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
"There's a special phone call to get, and then you’ve got to go and do your job for the week with Munster.
“To get that phone call from Andy, it was such a special thing, to be honest. It is a huge honour, and I am grateful to be asked.
“It is slightly different to be asked to do it for a full campaign, for the Six Nations, and one of the biggest honours of my career.”
Ireland is the current Six Nations and Grand Slam champions and will head to France in their opening game on February 2. This game kicks off at 8 p.m. Irish time. France will host defending champions Ireland at the Orange Velodrome in Marseille, as Stade de France is unavailable due to preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Ireland will then play consecutive home matches at Aviva Stadium in Rounds 2 and 3. Italy will visit Dublin on Sunday, February 11, which kicks off at 3 p.m., followed by a Wales clash on Saturday, February 24, which kicks off at 2.15 p.m.
In Round 4, Ireland will head to Twickenham to take on England on Saturday, March 9 (this kicks off at 4.45 p.m.). The Championship finale will see Ireland host Scotland at Aviva Stadium on Super Saturday, March 16 (this kicks off at 4.45 p.m.).
All three of Ireland’s home matches at Aviva Stadium are sold out, with RTÉ and Virgin Media providing free-to-air coverage of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations in the Republic of Ireland and BBC and ITV broadcasting in the United Kingdom.
Ireland Squad: Guinness Men’s Six Nations 2024
Forwards (19):
- Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) (15)
- Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) (36)
- Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) (46)
- Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) (41)
- Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) (36)
- Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) (72)
- Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) (125)
- Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) (79)
- Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) (26)
- Jeremy Loughman (Munster/Garryowen)
- Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)
- Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) (101) (captain)
- Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) (12)
- Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) (59)
- James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) (59)
- Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne) (21)
- Tom Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch) (2)
- Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge) (3)
- Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) (57)
Backs (15):
- Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) (52)
- Harry Byrne (Leinster/UCD) (2)
- Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) (13)
- Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution) (9)
- Ciaran Frawley (Leinster/UCD) (1)
- Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster) (30)
- Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) (62)
- Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) (36)
- Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) (30)
- James Lowe (Leinster) (26)
- Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) (15)
- Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) (112)
- Calvin Nash (Munster/Young Munster) (1)
- Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) (57)
- Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan) (37)
Training Panellists:
- Oli Jager (Munster)
- Thomas Ahern (Shannon/Munster)
- Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)
denotes uncapped player
Ireland Six Nations campaign February 2:
Ireland vs. France (8 p.m. Irish time, Orange Velodrome in Marseille)
February 11: Ireland vs. Italy at Aviva Stadium (3 p.m.)
February 24: Ireland vs. Wales at Aviva Stadium (2.15 p.m.)
March 9: England vs. Ireland at Twickenham (4.45 p.m.)
March 16: Ireland vs. Scotland at Aviva Stadium (4.45 p.m.)
