JESSICA O’MAHONY joked to herself and Peter had to ‘seek shade’ during his stay at a tropical resort in Portugal.

Jessica and their three children had already left Ireland for sunnier climes before Peter could join them after Ireland’s tour of South Africa ended.

A follow-up message reveals that they were attending the wedding of a friend from home.

For the occasion, bridesmaid Jess went all out in a stylish, yet comfortable and airy top.

Peter has also cleaned up thoroughly, swapping his usual dirty rugby gear for an attractive salmon pink jacket, combined with a white shirt and white trousers.

It is a very different story from Pretoria and Durban, where he and several of his teammates suffered facial cuts during two epic confrontations with the world champions.

The Springboks won the opening match at altitude 27-20.

That defeat was extra painful for the wider Irish rugby community as Dan Sheehan tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

But O’Mahony and co. have shown the resilience and quality that has seen them reach number one in the world rankings and win the last two Six Nations tournaments.

Six days later they defeated their opponents 25-24 thanks to two late goals from Ciarán Frawley.

The 1-1 series with the back-to-back world champions marked the end of a 13-month campaign for Ireland’s top players.

It all started with the run-up to the World Cup in France, so Andy Farrell’s stars, injured or not, are now all enjoying a well-deserved holiday.

Frawley’s heroic display in his sixth international match earned him a famous victory at Kings Park Stadium, where the Springboks had gone eight years without losing.

Asked what was going through his mind, the 26-year-old admitted: “I just don’t know, honestly. It’s mental.

“This place is a fortress and it’s so loud. The game was back and forth, they probably got momentum there for most of the second half.

“But the boys really got into it. We were in our own half and managed to get the last points, so we are delighted.

“I’m just going to have a beer now and enjoy it.”

The Six Nations champions looked set for a painful defeat after a great first half performance, with Conor Murray scoring an early try to take a 16-6 lead.

Flawless fly-half Handre Pollard kicked eight penalties to decide the match in favour of the Springboks, who won 27-20.

But Frawley sensationally scored 14 points against number 10 Jack Crowley to complete an impressive success in Farrell’s 50th Test as head coach.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi believes the series has created a fierce rivalry between the nations in his team, which retained last year’s World Cup after a 13-8 group stage defeat to Ireland in Paris.

He added: “That’s definitely because it was exciting last week, it was exciting this week and also at the World Cup.

“They clearly have the upper hand at the moment. We’re going to work hard, learn from this and I’m sure we’ll see them again.”