Timothy McGrath
Ronan O’Gara he from Pres, Cork, former Ireland, Munster and British and Irish Lion and now Stade Rochelais (now standing at 5th in the French Top 14 table, with seven matches to go) accepted the veritable trouncing by Leinster at the weekend with good grace. Although TV coverage swept rapidly back to the eggheads in the studio (doesn’t it always) those who remained in the Stadium at Lansdowne Road would have seen ROG, on the pitch, congratulating each and all of the Leinster players. Handshakes and hugs said it all.
I have long been an enthusiastic aficionado of all things O’Gara. My week begins and ends on a Friday when I get my hands on the Sports Supplement of The Examiner, where, in the true spirit of a newspaper of that name, he examines all-things Rugby. The insights into the game, which he openly shares in his articles, as well as the obvious emotional mainspring which drives him as a coach, can be truly enlightening to the on-field and arm-chair coaches alike.
He ranks up there with some of the greatest coaches of our times. Think of Jonno Gibbs, Graham Henry, Clive Woodward, Warren Gatland, Wayne Smith, Rasi Erasmus, Scott Robinson, Joe Schmidt, Fabien Galthié and Andy Farrell – O’Gara’s name fits in there on its merit.
One of his great mentors from school days onwards was Declan Kidney, himself a coach of considerable consequence. I have no way of knowing, but I would imagine that O’Gara first learned of the basic human aspect required in any coaching endeavour: the ‘soft skills’ in empathising with the myriad and complex individual personalities of any team, from the under 7’s to the Golden Oldies. Undoubtedly this is one of O’Gara’s great strengths. I truly felt saddened that it was during Kidney’s term as national coach that O’Gara’s reign came to a somewhat ignoble end. In 2013 O’Gara was dropped from the Ireland squad for the game against France, and was also left out of the squad for Ireland’s final game against Italy, which Ireland lost 22–15, their only ever defeat to Italy in the Six Nations
And then there was the intense rivalry between O’Gara and Sexton which was more than a “Munster/Leinster thing”. It was at times fractious and ugly, and probably soured the humour of all if both were in the same changing room. However, during Sexton’s time at French club Racing 92, a genuine mutual friendship blossomed. A rapport, not just respect.
And so, we return to last weekend. Where might the seeds of Stade Rochelais massacre have been sown? Of course they had just returned from South Africa where they beat the Stormers 22 to 21. Fatigue would have been a factor. But we are talking about highly professional and well remunerated players; they know how to cope with long-distance travel and all of what that entails.
Personally, I believe it was because O’Gara decided to divert the group to Cork, bypassing France, for a week’s relaxation, recovery and match preparation. Thus, the full squad and backroom team bedded down for a week at the Five Star Fota Island and Resort. Excursions into O’Gara’s beloved Cork very much part of the main course that week. This “clever move” by O’Gara was widely publicised in the media, national as well as local.
I can only try to imagine how this news was greeted by the Leinster players, during their own training programme. Frankly, I’d say it “got up their noses” – bigtime. I’d say words like “Over-confident”, “Brazen”, “Snooty” and “Cocky” were probably muttered – audibly! Perhaps there were pretty pictures of the Fota Island Hotel and Resort on the walls of the Leinster changing room before the match. I really don’t know.
But I wager that if the Stade Rochelasis squad had snuck back to base in France, and slithered across to Dublin beneath the Celebrity Radars, clocked into the 4 star Sandymount Hotel on Herbert Road, and quietly wandered up the road to the Lansdowne stadium in good time for a decent run-out before kick-off, they might – just might – have put up an enhanced performance on the pitch itself. Will we ever know? Answers on a postcard please!