With a phenomenal 21 tackles beside his name for the match, it’s no wonder Irish coach Andy Farrell made a B-line towards prop Tom O’Toole after Ireland’s 43-21 win over Scotland in the Aviva Stadium.
O’Toole’s journey with Ireland has been one of disappointments in the past and when asked to switch from tighthead to loosehead prop the journey changed to one of challenge.
But on Saturday it ended magnificently for the Ulster frontrow with a strong performance both sides of the ball, in the set piece and as a Triple Crown winner.
“I guess it’s trying not to overthink the last few weeks from switching over from traditionally tighthead, to getting experience at loosehead,” said O’Toole.
“The last few weeks were just trying to stick to my process. And I guess I just try not to really overthink it. So, he [Farrell] just said well done. I’m extremely honoured and extremely grateful to get that from Andy.”
O’Toole was not involved with Ireland for the November Series. But the Irish-born prop, who spent 10 years in Australia, performed well with Ulster and in the absence of the injured Andrew Porter gave Farrell just what he needed in partnering Tadhg Furlong from the start of the match until deep into the second half.
“Still kind of just taking it all in at the moment, still processing it,” said O’Toole “It’s been a crazy few weeks, training in Portugal and then not involved in the France game and then playing off the bench a couple of times, then unfortunately Jeremy [Loughman] picks up a knock and I have been given an opportunity.
“So, I guess sitting here, just [feel] extremely privileged and honoured to be part of this group. It’s a special day and I just kind of really want to enjoy the moment.”
Ireland’s Tadhg Furlong and Tom O’Toole celebrate after the match. Photograph: Inpho
It was Farrell’s influence and attention to O’Toole that helped him get into the right frame of mind for the technical adjustments.
As a motivator and a sounding board, the former league and union international made it clear what he expected in a Six Nations Championship Test match.
“Faz [Farrell] is an incredible coach. He’s an incredible motivator,” said O’Toole.
“He spoke to me a few times throughout this campaign, one-on-one. There’s an expectation when you put on a green jersey and when you play for Ireland that you have to perform. So, I just try not to give myself any excuses. I just did my utmost to play for this team.”
O’Toole and the rest of the players had to wait until the match between France and England in Stade de France was over to see if they had also won the championship. However, France won 48-46 with the last kick of the match, a penalty from fullback Thomas Ramos leaving Ireland in second place.
But the French victory did not take away from what O’Toole believes was a campaign that puts Ireland in a good place heading into the 12-team Nations Championship this summer and World Cup next year.
“I believe we’re in a really good place. I think so,” he said. “This Six Nations has been really competitive. I think we’ve been shown that in all the performances.
“Italy have come on incredibly well. Wales showed a really spirited performance last week and that was a real tough physical game. That first week against France, we were disappointed. I think we’ve built really nicely throughout the weeks. We’ve played some proper Test matches. They’ve been really tough.
“It’s no small achievement to win a Triple Crown as well. To get that achievement today is extremely pleasing. We’ll go back to our provinces now and we’ll play. Hopefully, that leads us to a really good place during summer.”
O’Toole is already there, in a good place. The trips up and down the road from Belfast to Dublin finally paid off and in the final match of the championship has shown himself to be an asset within the squad, who can play both sides of an Irish scrum.
“I’ve played a good few years of tighthead now,” said O’Toole. “It’ll probably take just a little bit, maybe a session or two to get back into it.
“I wouldn’t expect it to take too long. I had to prove to myself, first and foremost, that I had the capability to play both sides. It’s something that I wanted to bring into my game, that I’m a player that can play on both sides of the scrum.”
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