Iain Henderson revealed Test centurion Peter O’Mahony has been dubbed the “Haggard Badger” by his Ireland team-mates.
O’Mahony will become only the 10th Irishman to earn 100 caps after being selected to start Saturday’s crucial Rugby World Cup clash with Scotland in Paris.
Head coach Andy Farrell and captain Johnny Sexton were among those to pay tribute to the Munster skipper ahead of his landmark outing.
Lock Henderson also offered a glowing testimony but could not resist divulging an unflattering nickname based on O’Mahony’s well-worn features and greying hair, which was reportedly invented by prop Dave Kilcoyne.
Asked about the 34-year-old, Henderson replied: “The Haggard Badger?
“The Haggard Badger, I think he’s been coined. I’m not 100 per cent sure where that came from.”
Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, who was sitting next to Henderson, confirmed Kilcoyne was responsible, before the Ulster skipper continued: “Pete’s a massive leader for our group.
“Not only in terms of rugby but in terms of what we stand for as players, the social side of things, how well knitted together we are, he’s a massive part of that.
“Obviously I’m sure a lot of the cliches will come out now, but Peter rings true to most of them. He’s deserving of every minute of the jerseys he’s played in and, to this day, still nailing that down.
“You can see in Faz’s (Farrell’s) selections and how highly Faz speaks of him, I think that all rings true to the type of person he is. And long may that continue.”
O’Mahony is poised to join Ireland greats Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Rory Best, Paul O’Connell and John Hayes on the select list of centurions, plus current team-mates Cian Healy, Sexton, Conor Murray and Keith Earls.
The flanker, who made his international debut against Italy in 2012, will seek to mark the milestone appearance by helping his country avoid an upset against the Scots to reach the knockout stages in France.
“We can sit here all day the two of us and talk about what he brings, what he means to us all, what type of bloke he is, what type of family man he is,” Farrell, sitting alongside Sexton, said of O’Mahony.
“But we’d be here the whole press conference. To sum him up, he’s selfless.
“You guys would see the performance on the pitch and it’s heroic from Pete. You can see what it means for him to play for Ireland.
“But we obviously see behind the scenes and he’s definitely, 100 per cent, one of the best I’ve ever seen at making the dressing room feel right.
“And it’s not just a skill. It’s him being himself because it’s genuine and I’m sure Johnny would echo this that there’s no better man that you would want sat at the side of you in the dressing room at the weekend than Peter O’Mahony.”
Sexton added: “I don’t think you guys get to see the real Peter O’Mahony.
“He gives very little away when he sits up here, one word answers, but he’s the life and soul of the dressing room behind closed doors and it’s a privilege to play with him all the time.
“We’ll be playing for him as much as we are for ourselves on Saturday.”
Paris Olympics: Home hero Dupont sends France into rugby sevens semi-finals
Antoine Dupont sealed hosts France's progression to the rugby sevens semi-finals as his late try clinched victory over Argentina at the Paris Olympics.
Dupont, voted the 2021 World Player of the Year, missed out on this year's Six Nations to prepare himself for the sevens at the Games.
And he scored a brilliant solo try in the dying seconds at a jam-packed Stade de France to wrap up a 26-14 triumph over Argentina on Thursday.
Aaron Grandidier had earlier crossed the line twice along with back-rower Andy Timo's opener in a dominant first half, though Argentina fought back after the break.
Rodrigo Isgro responded for Los Pumas before Marcos Moneta sneaked over after France were reduced to six when Jordan Sepho was sin-binned.
Yet home favourite Dupont stepped up in the decisive moment, whipping the crowd into frenzy after setting up a last-four meeting against South Africa, who overcame New Zealand in the quarter-finals.
South Africa finished third in Pool A as New Zealand topped the group, but the Springboks exacted revenge against the All Blacks to secure a semi-final berth.
The Springboks raced into a two-try lead before holding out for a 14-7 victory to stun one of the pre-tournament favourites.
Fiji, champions in 2016 when the event was first introduced and four years later in Tokyo, unexpectedly found themselves up against it as Chay Mullins bundled over twice to snatch a 10-7 lead for Ireland at half-time.
Zac Ward extended the Irish lead but two tries in less than 30 seconds from Selestino Ravutaumada and Terio Tamani snatched a 19-15 turnaround.
The two-time Olympic champions will meet Australia after the Wallabies downed the United States with ease.
Corey Toole and James Turner both crossed in the first half en route to a convincing 18-0 triumph in the final match of the day, sending Australia into their first rugby sevens semi-final at the Olympics.
Australia 40-29 Georgia: Schmidt lays down gauntlet ahead of Rugby Championship opener
Joe Schmidt has said he remains unsure about some of his Australia players following their 40-29 victory over Georgia at Sydney Football Stadium.
Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight scored doubles for the hosts, with Australia surviving a red card picked up by Filipo Daugunu for a knee to the head of Sandro Todua to maintain the Wallabies' new head coaches unbeaten start.
Schmidt made 10 changes to the side that beat Wales last Saturday in Melbourne, with some taking the opportunity with both hands, while others fell short.
"Some guys have really put their hands up and other guys probably need a bit of work," Schmidt said.
"Some guys are delivering really consistent training performances and pushing for match day selection. Whether you're playing Georgia or next time we come out in Brisbane, it will be South Africa.
"We have a number of players who we're not sure about, who is maybe the best option in a particular position or who's the best combination."
Australia led 26-10 at the break, and although Georgia rallied in the second half, the home side triumphed in only the third meeting between the pair.
Hunter Paisami and Isaac Kailea went over the line early on, but Dauganu's sending off allowed Georgia a way back into the contest.
The visitors closed to within two points of Australia with two scintillating tries early in the second half through Davit Niniashvili and Akaki Tabutsadze.
However, their challenge faded as Niniashvili was sin-binned for a deliberate knockdown, as McReight and Valetini secured three successive wins for the first time since late 2021.
“It is only three weeks that we’ve been together and we made 10 changes and we knew there was an element of risk in that,” Schmidt said.
“But I like the way we built our way into the game, bar the early three points.
“We put a few nice tries together and built a lead, but it was really disappointing that they got back into the game and we were scrambling just a little bit.”
The Wallabies next face world champions South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane on August 10.
New Zealand 47-5 Fiji: Barrett seeking improvements despite resounding win
New Zealand captain Scott Barrett insists improvements will be made despite the All Blacks easing to a 47-5 win over Fiji in San Diego.
Scott Robertson's men scored seven tries at the Snapdragon Stadium in a side that included six debutants from their 2–0 series win over England last week.
The All Blacks led 26-5 at half-time, but Fiji still managed to restrict their opponents to the lowest score of their eight Test encounters.
"Fiji certainly showed up tonight in the physical areas," said captain Barrett. "It wasn't fully polished, we have pretty high standards in this team.
"They were able to get their hands on the ball to turn it over at times but we created enough opportunities to turn into points."
Caleb Clarke and Cortez Ratima scored converted tries in the opening exchanges, before Vilimoni Botitu notched Fiji's only try of the contest.
Sevu Reece would increase the All Blacks' advantage in the second half, before George Bell, on his debut, went over for the final try of the encounter.
The result maintains New Zealand's eight-game winning run, with head coach Scott Robertson nodding to the future following impressive performances from his debutants.
“Keeping them to five points is pretty special," Robertson said. "We scored some great tries, we left a lot out there.
"I’m really proud of a lot of efforts and the six debutants who really stood up.
“It was exciting to see how that talent went. They showed why we picked them. We’ve had seven debutants over the three games.
"It’s been intense with the travel coming over here. I’m pleased everyone has learnt quickly and been incredibly professional off the field.”
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