There would be more disappointment to come four weeks later when Munster lost their Guinness PRO14 semi-final to Leinster at the RDS but fast forward to August and there is optimism within the province as O’Mahony and his squad knuckle down to a first pre-season campaign under head coach Johann van Graan and welcome an exciting contingent of new faces the skipper hopes can help his side finally take the next step to a first trophy since 2011.

O’Mahony, 29, began his pre-season only last Monday, rejoining the Munster squad along with his touring Ireland team-mates after leading them to a series win over the Wallabies in June.

Yet during a week-long camp at the Fota Island Resort he has been impressed by the impact made by the likes of South African back-row Arno Botha, Irish-qualified full-back Mike Haley, and fellow Test tourists Tadhg Beirne and Joey Carbery.

You look at the guys that we have signed, the positions, the characters that they are...I think we’ve signed very well,” O’Mahony said. “It’s been a good few days with the lads, getting them to fit in and it’s probably the best environment to do so.

“At times when you are in the (high performance) centre (at the University of Limerick), everyone just disperses after training so it’s good to sit down with a few guys you mightn’t know, go out for a coffee or go out for a bite to eat with, just shoot the breeze, and obviously you have an extra few hours in the day to do an extra bulk of meetings and get all that stuff ticked off before the lads get back into pre-season.”

O’Mahony, like the other Ireland internationals, is unlikely to get his 2018-19 campaign underway until the end of September but he said he was fit and well following a premature end to the third Test against Australia in Sydney six weeks ago.

The Corkman was forced off in the first half of the 20-16 series-clinching win after being taken out in the air by Israel Folau. It appeared O’Mahony had suffered a shoulder injury but he said it was a “head knock”.

“I wasn’t allowed to return to the field and that was the end of that. But I’m all good, there are no real ill effects after the game and I passed all my HIA stuff.”

There is plenty of change for O’Mahony at home as well having become a father for the second time a fortnight ago, fiancee Jessica Moloney giving birth to Theo, a brother to two-year-old Indie.

The residential camp at Fota last week reduced the inevitable number of sleepless nights although O’Mahony said:

We have a two-and-a-bit year-old so I’m looking after her and sleeping downstairs.

“It’s great, this year Johann gave us five weeks and it was good timing for me having the baby last week. You feel refreshed and looking forward to getting back to the lads and it’s kinda weird being away from the group, especially when you’re away in Australia for a long period together and it’s strange being away from the group like that.”