Maybe that was fitting, considering the years of near-misses Ronan O’Gara pushed Munster to before finally reaching the promised land in 2006.
“I’ll sleep on it until the end of the season and we’ll see what goes on,” he said after his 10th and final Heineken Cup semi-final.
As always, he was true to his word.
“It’d be hard to leave this beauty here next to me,” he added with a comical nod to Paul O’Connell, but even that colossal figure cannot eclipse the contribution of the man universally known as ROG.
O’Gara’s time as a professional has shaped everything about Irish rugby: The Grand Slam, the Heineken Cup adventures, the devaluation of the once-rare Triple Crown, one out-half’s brilliance made them all happen.
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Limelight
It wasn’t a one-man job, perish the thought. For all his self-confidence, one of O’Gara’s favourite sayings was the cyclical ‘when the team goes well, the 10 goes well’. And as you glance back over the stills of his remarkable career you’ll struggle to find him hogging the limelight or even any of the trophies he has accumulated.
Whether off the tee or from his hands, the world bowed at the magic contained within the right boot that guided both Munster and Ireland from post to post, over and over again.
Picking a fond memory is easy: so many inch-perfect touch-finders, the drop-goals against Wales, Argentina, Northampton and, yes, Wales again. There was the last-gasp half-way line penalty to upset Leicester in Welford Road… we could go on and on.
Behind the trumpeted boot and the vastly underrated skill with ball in hand, here was a man of immense mental strength.
36 years ago, Ronan O’Gara was born to play out-half. Taking the weight of expectation upon his own shoulders was just his thing. He was born to make clutch decisions, changing the complexion of a game, of a tournament with the stroke of his brush.
YouTube credit: RTE
He may have been among the first crop the professional era, but throughout it all he retained an old school character. While most of his peers and coaches had learned to disguise their emotion, ROG never lost his honesty.
O’Gara has always kept all who come into contact with him on their toes. Never short of a few home truths or a barbed comment to those that had wronged him.
Red
Mid-match, his cheeks were always the first to signal when things were not going his way. When the team did not go well, the 10 took a hammering and O’Gara’s frustration would cause his face to borrow the shade of his provincial jersey.
To pass on the apparent offer of an extended playing contract is understandable – even more so when he has the language skills to take up the coaching trade in France. But at Racing Metro, to mentor Jonathan Sexton? You really can’t write this guy’s script.
Yet when you take a step back, the choice begins to look slightly more in character. He’s kept us on our toes, put us through all 41 phases before masterfully making us cry out in disbelief.
He departs Irish rugby in a far superior state than where he found it, the pivot of a golden generation. A man who continually picked himself up and put himself back in the firing line.
In the end, there was no trophy or tickertape to mark his exit. In Montpellier, with his son Rua in his arms, he simply wiped a tear away and bowed out having given the best team in Europe an almighty scare.
Brave defeat was never good enough for O’Gara the player, we await O’Gara the coach with bated breath.
Honesty & magic -- O'Gara retires having made Irish rugby great
HIS WAS A career that ended in brave defeat.
Maybe that was fitting, considering the years of near-misses Ronan O’Gara pushed Munster to before finally reaching the promised land in 2006.
“I’ll sleep on it until the end of the season and we’ll see what goes on,” he said after his 10th and final Heineken Cup semi-final.
As always, he was true to his word.
“It’d be hard to leave this beauty here next to me,” he added with a comical nod to Paul O’Connell, but even that colossal figure cannot eclipse the contribution of the man universally known as ROG.
O’Gara’s time as a professional has shaped everything about Irish rugby: The Grand Slam, the Heineken Cup adventures, the devaluation of the once-rare Triple Crown, one out-half’s brilliance made them all happen.
Limelight
It wasn’t a one-man job, perish the thought. For all his self-confidence, one of O’Gara’s favourite sayings was the cyclical ‘when the team goes well, the 10 goes well’. And as you glance back over the stills of his remarkable career you’ll struggle to find him hogging the limelight or even any of the trophies he has accumulated.
Whether off the tee or from his hands, the world bowed at the magic contained within the right boot that guided both Munster and Ireland from post to post, over and over again.
Behind the trumpeted boot and the vastly underrated skill with ball in hand, here was a man of immense mental strength.
36 years ago, Ronan O’Gara was born to play out-half. Taking the weight of expectation upon his own shoulders was just his thing. He was born to make clutch decisions, changing the complexion of a game, of a tournament with the stroke of his brush.
YouTube credit: RTE
He may have been among the first crop the professional era, but throughout it all he retained an old school character. While most of his peers and coaches had learned to disguise their emotion, ROG never lost his honesty.
O’Gara has always kept all who come into contact with him on their toes. Never short of a few home truths or a barbed comment to those that had wronged him.
Red
Mid-match, his cheeks were always the first to signal when things were not going his way. When the team did not go well, the 10 took a hammering and O’Gara’s frustration would cause his face to borrow the shade of his provincial jersey.
To pass on the apparent offer of an extended playing contract is understandable – even more so when he has the language skills to take up the coaching trade in France. But at Racing Metro, to mentor Jonathan Sexton? You really can’t write this guy’s script.
He departs Irish rugby in a far superior state than where he found it, the pivot of a golden generation. A man who continually picked himself up and put himself back in the firing line.
In the end, there was no trophy or tickertape to mark his exit. In Montpellier, with his son Rua in his arms, he simply wiped a tear away and bowed out having given the best team in Europe an almighty scare.
Brave defeat was never good enough for O’Gara the player, we await O’Gara the coach with bated breath.
Ronan O’Gara’s incredible Munster career in 40 brilliant pictures
Perfect 10: Ronan O’Gara’s finest moments in an Ireland shirt
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Fly-half Ireland Ireland Jonathan Sexton Legend Munster Munster Opinion out-half Perfect 10 ROG Ronan O'Gara