Peter O’Mahony will be keeping lofty company when he joins Ireland’s list of centurions on Saturday.

Throughout this week, he has received glowing testimonials from his peers. As the leader of the group, he is the life and soul of the organization.

O’Mahony, however, is not one to put too much stock in such accolades.

While he is humble to the point of self-deprecation, he wrestles with the idea of being mentioned in the same breath as the Irish rugby fellowship he will join when he takes the field to face Scotland at Stade de France.

Having names like those ahead of me is a little embarrassing, to be honest,” the Munster flanker said before Ireland’s Pool B match against the Scots.

“People I grew up following and supporting, hugely inspirational figures. Becoming the 10th is going to be challenging.

“That was certainly not something I ever anticipated or dreamed of. We all talk about having dreams, but that one was way off the radar.”

There’s just one problem. O’Mahony has always appeared destined for a place in Irish rugby folklore to everyone else. By the age of 23, he was captain of Ireland and Munster, and by the age of 28, he was captain of the Lions.

A passionate Ireland fan born with Down’s syndrome, Jennifer Malone, is one of the reasons Irish rugby fans remember O’Mahony.