IN DANGER OF BEING FORGOTTEN IN THE SHADOWS
Conor O’Shea has always preferred to work under the radar but he’s...
CONOR O’SHEA has never been one to court the spotlight. The Italy boss much prefers to go about his business away from the glare of scrutiny.
In 1994, he had just played in Ireland’s famous win over England at Twickenham when he went on RTÉ’s popular Know Your Sport quiz as the mystery guest.
The format saw presenter George Hamilton read out four progressively easier clues (the last one was “shares the same surname as legendary Kerry midfielder, Jack”) with the contestants buzzing in to guess the identity.
No one came close and when O’Shea was eventually revealed, he was met with blank stares. Embarrassing to some, perhaps, but that low profile is the way he always preferred it.
At that time, he was playing All-Ireland League with Lansdowne but was happy to let fellow international Eric Elwood hog the limelight. On train journeys to matches, people would queue down the carriage to get the outhalf’s autograph (it was the pre-selfie era) while he sat unrecognised across the aisle, quietly reading his book of choice.
Fame did not concern him but he had big plans nonetheless. A popular squad member, he retreated to the background for traditional post-game drinking sessions, with teammates joking he suffered from ‘internationalitis’ obsessed with a professional approach to further his Ireland career at a time when Irish rugby was still entirely amateur in outlook.
O’Shea’s time with the national team lasted the bones of a decade, from 1993 to 1999, and he never took it for granted.
‘I was an average player who worked incredibly hard. I could catch and kick and run and might have done better in a different environment but our style in the 1990s was terrible,’ he recalled last February.
That decade was the grimmest in Irish rugby history and of O’Shea’s 35 caps, he was on the beaten side 22 times – the nadir coming with an ignominious World Cup defeat to Argentina in Lens in 1999.
Ireland’s next outing was his last (a 50-point walloping in London at the start of the 2000 Six Nations), part of the culling process that sparked the revival in the 2000s that continues to this day.
But there was no bitterness and his rough international playing experiences were a reference point when he took to coaching in his early 30s. It provided him with the knowledge of what to do and, more pertinently, what not to do.
Indeed, there are echoes of that tough time in his current situation as Italy national boss.
Since taking over in March 2016, he has overseen 24 internationals and won just five – against the US, Canada, Fiji, Japan and, his greatest coaching achievement to date, South Africa this time two years ago.
It’s a brutal record but he knew what he was getting into. He realised it would be long, painstaking process turning Italian rugby around and, along with former IRFU technical director Stephen Aboud, he set about improving things from the ground up.
That involved work- ing on underage structures in schools and clubs, developing properly-resourced academies to bring through talent and working closely with Italy’s flagship franchises – Treviso and Zebre.
Neither side made the Pro14 knockout stages last season but Treviso finishing with 11 wins and Zebre seven out of 21 was progress.
So far this season, both have three wins from seven and there is a growing confidence in Italian players as they move away from their perennial whipping-boys mindset.
The problem is, while O’Shea is working incredibly hard to improve fitness, skill levels and overall depth in Italian rugby, other nations are considerably ahead, none moreso than Ireland, Saturday’s opponents in Chicago.
He does so under considerable pressure. The Azzuri’s abject Six Nations record has led to calls for a promotion-relegation format with Georgia pushing hard for elevation.
Italy’s clash with the Georgians next week is a massive test of the O’Shea project, its importance reflected in his decision to rest a clutch of key players for this weekend.
Defeat in Florence on November 10 would see the heat ramp up massively as patience with talk of ‘long-term building’ and ‘encouraging signs’ begins to wear thin.
‘There’s only so long in this life that you can talk about performance. I want the energy of a result. You live to win,’ he says.
For such a normally unflappable character, there have been occasions when frustration has come out, most notably after their defeat in Twickenham last year, when his innovative (but legal, at the time) tactic of having his playLondon ers run around the ruck to obstruct delivery led to heavy criticism.
‘We beat South Africa, it’s a “terrible” South African side, we do something different and it’s “you can’t do that”.
‘We have to change in Italy and I’m sick and tired of people having a pop. We came here to win. So stop having a go.’
It was a passionate outburst that reminded us why his name was once regularly floated as a future Ireland boss on the back of noteworthy achievements with Irish, Harlequins and his roles with the English union and English Institute Of Sport (where he played a key role in building for the outstanding success story of the London Olympics).
However, since taking over Italy, his name is rarely mentioned and he shot down the notion of taking over Ireland earlier this year.
‘I love my country too much to do it. It can only end badly. I never want to experience that feeling I had after Lens when I did not want to come home.’
Yet, it is experiences like Lens that could make him the perfect overseer for Irish rugby and you wonder how effective he could be if he had access to the wealth of talent Schmidt has at his disposal.
It is a moot point, for now, because O’Shea is at a critical point in his coaching career and he has to produce. After Ireland and Georgia, Italy face daunting assignments against Australia and New Zealand with competitive displays against the big three and a comprehensive win over Georgia the minimum requirement.
For someone who prefers working under the radar, there is no hiding from the reality that shortterm need has overtaken longterm design.
O’Shea has to give Italian rugby a strong identity this month. Being the mystery guest will not cut it anymore.
Since taking over Italy his name is rarely mentioned