Ireland flanker Peter O’Mahony believes the retiring CJ Stander will leave a huge legacy behind, as he prepares to make his Guinness Six Nations farewell this weekend.
O’Mahony has been a teammate of Stander for over eight years, since the latter’s arrival at Munster in 2012, and the pair have been part of a hugely successful back row with Ireland since Stander’s international debut in 2016.
Stander made the surprise announcement on Tuesday that he would be retiring and returning home to his native South Africa at the end of the season, meaning Saturday’s clash against England will be the 30-year-old’s 51st and last cap for Ireland.
During his five years at international level, Stander has been part of a Grand Slam-winning team in 2018, while his ability to crash through the gain line has allowed him to score 12 tries from No.8.
O’Mahony told the official IRFU site: “From the day he arrived in Munster, he did his best to buy into our culture and now he’s creating bits of our culture.
“He’s the person who I’d always think, ‘who do kids look up to?’. You want to be someone who the young fellas look up to.
“It’s a nice compliment to give someone that there’s kids around, probably not just Ireland but the British Isles and beyond, who want to be like CJ, which is a huge compliment.
“He’s an incredible family man, which obviously he’s spoken about. How important that is to him. An incredible friend and obviously an incredible team-mate, but more importantly an incredible friend. I can’t say much more.”
Stander made his 50th appearance for Ireland in their 27-24 victory against Scotland in Round 4.
He has also been capped by the British & Irish Lions, as he made an appearance off the bench in the drawn third Test against New Zealand in 2017.
O’Mahony expressed his surprise at Stander’s announcement, saying: “I was very shocked, obviously. I didn’t see it coming.
“I don’t think anyone did, but he explained his reasons and his reasons are very valid ones. Very noble ones, in my opinion. Everyone will respect his decision.
“The man has given an incredible amount to not just Ireland, but Munster as well and Limerick. An incredible team-mate. He’s got to give a bit back to his family now, who’ve sacrificed a huge amount for him.
“We’ll hopefully make this week and the three or four months he has remaining left to play with us, and me certainly, as special as we can.”
