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Peter O’Mahony has picked Andy Farrell over Rassi Erasmus as the best coach he has worked under, despite offering a glowing assessment of the Springbok boss’s coaching abilities.
Ex Ireland and Munster The captain spoke on the For the Love of Rugby podcast following the release of his book All In, and has worked closely with both Farrell and Erasmus throughout his career.
While Erasmus initially arrived at Munster as Director of Rugby, O’Mahony explained that the South African was also a successful hands-on coach when circumstances required him to take on a greater role on the training ground following the death of Anthony Foley.
“So Rasie arrived as our director of rugby, and there were days when he stayed in the office and didn’t come on the field. Then Axel passed away, unfortunately, at the worst time for the club. So then he was forced to actually be on the field with the forwards, and technically he was very good with the forwards.
“He took over the set-up until Fla took over and did a bit of our fouling and his technical side was good. But his main thing was director of rugby, motivation, tactics, the technical thing was his baby.”
However, for all his praise for Erasmus, O’Mahony was a bit hesitant when asked which of the two coaches he would choose to spend his career with, describing Farrell as “the complete package”.
“I’d take Faz. Faz is the best coach I’ve ever had. Don’t get me wrong, how are you going to argue with Rassi about what he’s won and what he’s shown he can do? But if you told me I could only pick one coach to coach me for my entire career, it would be Faz.
“To me, he’s the complete package. Just a normal guy, a healthy guy, easy to talk to, obviously a real leader, and he never seemed to put a foot wrong in the room. Meetings, always great meetings. He’s got his voice at the right times. You won’t hear it all week, but when you hear it, it’ll stick with you. Great game and philosophy about Jack. That.”
O’Mahony also discussed the rivalry that has developed between Ireland and South Africa, believing Erasmus’ history with Munster, along with the movement of coaches and players between the two countries, has helped add another layer to their meetings.
“There’s definitely been a bit of a dynamic since Rassie came to Ireland. The way he’s been with the media and stuff, and we’ve just had some big games over the years. It’s kind of fed into it.
“Rassie and Jacques came to us and then they came back. Obviously Jacques came back here with Leinster. So we’re a bit intertwined and you’ve got a few of them here. RG was with us, he’s with Leinster now.
“So you have a few different aspects, but the main reason was that they were so competitive and such good games, and physical encounters. But it definitely turned into a big game for us. Definitely.”