Ronan O’Gara has a keen empathy with Andy Farrell, initially in Farrell’s excellence as a player in both rugby league and union and more recently the manner in which the new Ireland coach has spoken about his aspirations as the national side face into the opening match of the Six Nations Championship against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (4.45).
There is only a couple of years in the age difference between the two young head coaches, O’Gara (42) in his role with Top 14 French side La Rochelle and Farrell (44), who fulfils a similar remit with Ireland. Growing up the former Munster, Ireland and Lions outhalf “was a massive Wigan fan,” and O’Gara was drawn to Farrell the player.
“The guy was an incredible rugby league player and he played for England in union; a dual code international. He is a born competitor. I was really impressed with the way that he spoke this week, I think he has what a lot of other coaches don’t have; he has that technical expertise but he also has the capacity to make players play for him, a likeable, smiley guy.
“I genuinely think he is going to do a great job. For me he is a glass three-quarter full man, which is great to see. He is not weighed down as a young coach by the so-called pressures of the job. All he knows is rugby and he is going after it to put in place his ideas based on wide-ranging experience as a player and in other coaching roles.”
Predictable team
O’Gara, who is an analyst for Virgin Media during the Six Nations, wasn’t surprised by the Irish team chosen for Saturday on foot of the injury situation with regard to a couple of players. “Once he announced the squad it was quite a predictable team. I do think they’ll miss [Will] Addison and [Keith] Earls going forward: I think [if fit] they would be in the starting line-up. I really rate those two.
“I think it is a good team. When you see someone like [Robbie] Henshaw on the bench and you see the quality we have nowadays. I like the mix of youth and experience up front, I am looking forward to seeing [Ronan] Kelleher; he could be a cracking prospect. I like the fact that Andy Farrell has kept Peter O’Mahony; he’s got a big role as an impact player.”
To turn the page on what was a disappointing and frustrating 2019 for the national team, O’Gara believes they must win back the respect of the supporters. “Irish rugby supporters are very smart, irrespective of the results and it is a results-driven business, they realise if the team is performing well or not. I think it is important the way that this team plays.
“Farrell has said that he wants the Irish public behind this team. The Irish public will get behind the team if you give them a reason to: 2019 was hugely disappointing in terms of results but more so in the manner the team played and the staleness. That needs to be rectified soon. Once people see genuine effort, they’ll appreciate that.
Technical
“That’s the thing that previous players and coaches installed in us, that honesty factor. The game has become very technical but digging in for your teammates is more important than anything in sport.”
His knowledge of the French game, first with Racing 92 and now La Rochelle allows him to offer an interesting perspective on how France will fare under the new coaching baton of Fabien Galthie. “They are a team that have the players, they have never had the time to be more organised [than they are now]. The question is, ‘will they be more organised?’
“They have some good coaches now and they have some very good young players who want to play for France. I can remember years ago being in France and a lot of players were dreading going into camp. That’s not a good situation. There is a buzz to wear the blue jersey again.”
So who does he think will win the Six Nations? “Because I was at the World Cup semi-final and I saw the way that England played against New Zealand, I thought they were exceptional that day; I think there is probably more growth in England than any other team. I’d probably say them.”
