O'Gara (centre) on stage with The42's Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella. The42 The42

A CAPACITY CROWD turned out to Dublin’s Liberty Hall on Wednesday night as we talked all things rugby with Irish sporting royalty. 

In association with Aldi, The42 treated readers to a frank and open discussion with Munster great and Irish Examiner columnist Ronan O’Gara ahead of this weekend’s mouth-watering November Test between Joe Schmidt’s Ireland and current world champions New Zealand. 

Alongside Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey, ROG talked about his own playing days and what it means to face the All Blacks, family life in Paris and Christchurch and his coaching ambitions with Crusaders, Munster and Ireland. 

The lads analysed particular strengths and weaknesses of New Zealand's play. The42 The42

I’ll never forget when you play them [the All Blacks],” O’Gara explained. “Your heart beats a little bit faster, you’ve less time on the ball.”

After much deliberation, the Cork native predicted an “18-18 draw” at the Aviva Stadium before answering a series of questions from the floor — with one lucky fan winning a pair of tickets to Saturday’s match thanks to Aldi. 

Watch how a thoroughly-enjoyable night unfolded: 

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Aldi is a proud sponsor of the IRFU through the Aldi Play Rugby programme, a free initiative that is a fun and safe way for primary school kids to get involved in playing rugby. For more information, visit aldi.ie/playrugby