O’Gara soaks it all up for shot with Ireland
RONAN O’GARA believes his spell working at Super Rugby champions Crusaders has made him a better coach and shown him size is not everything in modern day rugby.
The former Ireland and Lions fly-half – whose dream is to one day coach his national side – is attack supremo alongside Scott Robertson in Christchurch having previously spent four seasons at Racing 92.
“It’s a great place for me to work right now,” O’Gara told The Rugby Paper. “They love their rugby in New Zealand, they work really hard at it. They have a great attitude and they are very humble too which has paid off on me.
“I’ve hugely enjoyed my time at the Crusaders, it’s been massively fulfilling for me, and we’ve had success. I’ve certainly improved as a coach and it’s added to the things I learned at Munster and Ireland.”
O’Gara – who won 128 caps for Ireland and two for the Lions – insists coaches must look beyond brute force as a way of achieving success.
Today’s players are getting bigger and ever more powerful, but the 41-year-old added: “You need a brave coach to pick more ball players in your team and that comes down to tactics.
“It’s also important rugby doesn’t become an out-and-out physical game. There should be a massive emphasis on skill which I’ve realised from being in the Southern Hemisphere.
“If you look at Super Rugby, there are no real big lumps playing the game. There are a lot of guys who are agile and fast. It depends in what part of the world you are playing the game, but I think it’s hugely important rugby keeps entertainment at its forefront.”
O’Gara added: “Of course I’d like to coach Ireland. Five years into my playing career I wasn’t the best player I could be and it’s harder in coaching because there is more to learn.
“It’s hard to get the jobs and opportunities I’ve been given. You have to make the most of them. Someone can open a door for you, but you have to take the gap when it’s there.”