Peter O'Mahony dreaming of bigger moments ahead of 100th cap

At Thursday afternoon's press conference Peter O'Mahony spent just under a quarter of an hour telling the room what it means to him to play for Ireland, not least to win 100 caps.

But to really understand what representing his country means, you only have to take a quick look at him in the moments before a Test match.

Eyes closed, roaring every last breath of Amhrán na bhFiann of Ireland's Call, and more often than not the loudest man on the line.

On Saturday evening at Stade de France he'll stand out on that line for the 100th time in an Ireland shirt, the tenth men's player to hit the milestone of a century of caps.

"It's almost a little bit embarrassing with the names that are ahead of me to be honest, people I grew up following and supporting, hugely inspirational characters," he says of joining that elite list of names.

"It's going to take some time to settle in. It's nothing I ever expected or dreamed of. We all talk about having dreams but that one was way off the radar to be honest."

While O'Mahony might like to play his achievements down, the fact that he's reached triple figures in an Ireland shirt would come as a surprise to few.

An Ireland international since 2012, he was just 15 caps into his Test career when interim head coach Les Kiss gave him the captaincy on the summer tour of North America at the age of just 23, while he was installed as Munster skipper just a couple of months later.

But for a cruciate ligament injury at the 2015 World Cup which ruled him out for just shy of 12 months, his big day would have arrived sooner, having been a consistent selection in Irish squads under Declan Kidney, Joe Schmidt and now Andy Farrell.

"I've spoken to a few guys who have either finished or are at the end of their