Doing It For The Kicks

In a world in which most sports stars are little more than self-obsessed teenagers, Ronan O’Gara is a breath of fresh air. Where other famous footballers and rugby players are content to jabber on in fluent non-speak, trotting out clichés like most of us use expletives, the Irish and Munster out-half is refreshingly different, taking a couple of seconds to think about each question before replying.

And when he does answer, it’s not with the bland babblings of an underused (or underpowered) brain: the 27-year-old Corkonian clearly thinks about the life he leads, and is disarmingly honest about his career to date, the cult of celebrity, the increasing glamour of being an Irish rugby star – and Ireland’s chances of Six Nations glory in 2005.
He’s also one of the busiest men in the country right now, facing into what is potentially the biggest season in an already illustrious career.
Arriving slightly late for the interview in the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork, O’Gara apologises profusely – his training ran over by 15 minutes. Indeed, he is forced to dramatically cut the time allotted for photographs with HP snapper Liam Sweeney as another training session has been scheduled at the last minute.
Having made his debut for Ireland against Scotland in February 2000, the intervening years saw O’Gara and his Ulster counterpart, David Humphreys, vying for the coveted Irish number 10 jersey. O’Gara is currently coach Eddie O’Sullivan’s preferred choice for the pivotal position and his form over the last year has prompted many rugby experts to name him as the finest number 10 in world rugby at the moment.
Despite the fact that he picked up a hand injury, which has kept him out of Munster’s last few Celtic League and European Cup games, Ronan is hopeful of being back for the first Six Nations game in Rome on February 6th. In fact, he’s positively champing at the bit for what could be the defining season for this star-studded Irish rugby team.

Do we have a real hope of winning the Six Nations?
Of course there’s a hope, yeah. The competition is obviously very stiff. Italy always beat a team and we have to go over there first. And Ireland never really play well in Scotland. There are opportunities with England and France at home, but they are world class teams and if you want to beat them, you’re going to have to play to the top of your game. It’ll be very difficult but if there is a squad that can do it, I think this is the squad.

Things have dramatically improved for the Irish rugby team over the last couple of years. What do you think has made the difference?
I think Eddie O’Sullivan has a lot to do with it. He brought in a good management team around him, who are very professional. Everything is analysed in depth and everything is made available to the players. Obviously, the quality of players has genuinely improved too. There is competition for places now that probably wasn’t there in the past.

In a nutshell, what makes Eddie O’Sullivan such a good coach?
He’s very good at putting theory into practice. The game-plans he comes up with are unbelievable. Where he gets them from, I don’t know, but that’s what separates him from other coaches.
Will you be back by the Italian game?
I hope so. I hope to play the week before the Italian game. If Sunday goes well with the medical team, I’ll just strap it up and get on with it.

Do you feel threatened at all by David Humphreys?
I don’t think I’d use the word ‘threatened’. He’s a quality player and there always has been competition between us for the last five or six years. I think that’s good for us and it’s good for the team. I think I perform better when there’s someone breathing down my neck, so it’s a healthy relationship.
It’s been a real ding-dong battle between the two of you for the last five years or so. You’re currently in possession of the Number 10 jersey so you presumably want to be in the team and you don’t want to hand your rival an opportunity to stake his claim for a place?
Absolutely. This is a good team to be part of. The last 12 months have been exceptional and I’m looking forward hopefully to taking up where we left off.
In a game like rugby, there is nothing like the security you have in other careers. An accountant, for example, would be pretty pissed off if he came back to work after being sick to find that somebody else had taken his job. That must be a bit worrying?
Obviously it is, but you’ve got to control the things you can control. You can’t control whether you get knocked about or not. Once you get injured, it’s up to you to get back into the best possible shape. There’s always going to be competition for places and that’s what makes it so challenging. But it is a short career and you have to make the most of it when things are going well.
Do you have sleepness nights worrying about games?
Nah, I don’t. I think earlier on in my career I would have been a lot more nervous but now I feel more comfortable. I suppose that just comes with experience.
As a kicker, if you have a bad day with the boot, would you spend all night kicking penalties in your head?
Fortunately, in the last few years, I’ve never really had a horror day. A lot of things have got to feature in your thinking. Conditions play a part. But I think as long as you’re reasonably happy, you just move on to planning for the next game.
Who do you most fear?
[Big pause] I don’t fear any person, I suppose. Sometimes you might fear yourself, whether you’re doing the best you can with yourself, whether you’re honest to yourself. As long as I’m honest with myself and giving it my best shot, then I don’t fear anyone.
In terms of your own game at out-half, how much of the game is played in your head?
An awful lot, yeah. But then it can so quickly change. That’s the great thing about sport – that you don’t really know what’s going to develop next. You can plan for everything but it really is a game of instincts at times and you just have to trust your instincts and get on with it. A lot of it is off the cuff as well. It’s easy watching from the stand but actually having to operate it on the pitch is far more difficult.
Last year Ireland were lucky to face England without their captain, Johnny Wilkinson. Are you praying he’s not going to be on the teamsheet this year?
He’s suffered badly with injuries. I think, just from having my own little injuries, that it’s probably tormenting him, although I don’t know what kind of a fella he is. He’s been out of it now for well over a year, nearly 18 months by the time he comes back. Since his achievements in the World Cup, people have been giving him a hard time, and unfairly so, I feel, because there was obviously only one way he could go, and that was down. He had achieved mission impossible, really. He had been England’s most effective player in the build-up to the World Cup. He was playing tremendous stuff, but now he’s got to get back on the pitch and it will take him a while to re-adjust. But you never like to see anyone out, no matter how good they are. You want to play with and against the best and I’d love to see where my game now is against his.
Johnny Wilkinson aside though, it must be a boost if you see an opposing team sheet that’s missing one or two players who can really put it up to you?
Maybe the forwards might think like that a bit. But nowadays, if a player is injured, another fella can come in and do just as effective a job. I’m not saying that Wilkinson is easily replaced, obviously, but that’s the way of professional rugby. You’ve got competitive players in more positions.
Moving on to Munster. A lot of people thought they were rubbish last weekend. What’s going on?
I think it’s fair to say that we haven’t been operating to the top of our game. We’re winning matches but we should be winning by more points. There is still a fair bit of pessimism in that: but I don’t think the team is down. We’ve won five of our six pool games, which we would have been delighted with every year. But now standards have risen so much that we want our performances to improve and that hasn’t been happening. But there is plenty of time to improve between now and the quarter-final. There’s hope for us there yet.
Do you have what it takes to beat Biarritz?
That’s the question. I reckon it’ll be a very close game and if ever you wanted to get a team of lads to go down to the south of France to take them on, then it’s this group. There is a big performance in us and I’m hoping it’s that day.
Over the last number of years, Munster have been the nearly team of the European Cup. Why has it not happened for you?
There’s been a variety of reasons. We shouldn’t have lost to Northampton, which we did: that was the easiest one to win. We got beaten by a Leicester team that was better than us. In the other semi-final, we had the misfortune of having a try disallowed, which was a bit of luck we needed but didn’t get. The Wasps game was a tremendous game but we were just beaten in the end by one or two silly mistakes.
You’ve still ended up being second or third best.
It’s not an easy competition to win. There are some unbelievably good teams out there. A lot of people don’t look at the bigger picture and examine the opposition. You look at Toulouse, you look at Wasps: look at their budgets and the quality of the bench they have.
If we’re to win it, and it’s getting harder, we’re going to have to up our game. The players realise that. It’s tough. The quality of player out there is as good as what we have in Munster and maybe a small bit better in some areas: but we’re better than them in others. Some fellas think that just because we’ve been very good, then we deserve to win it, but sport isn’t like that. People are talking bullshit if they think that just because you’ve been there, you’re going to win it some year: you’re not.
Can the Irish provinces compete in terms of budget and in terms of attracting quality players?
I’m not too aware of what the rules in England and France are, but the French teams seem to have an open-ended budget. They can attract whoever they want. Look at Toulouse and Biarritz, with the signings they have made this year. I don’t think they have a salary cap. But we’ve never used that as an excuse. Let them sign who they want. They’re going to have a good team but once Munster have a full strength side, we’ll give anyone a game and a good rattle. That’s the mentality we’re taking forward this year as well.
Rugby has gained a much higher profile over the last couple of years, no doubt due to the performances of the national side and the provinces. But there is an element of ‘big time’ in the game that wasn’t there before. Does that make you nervous?
No.
So what was the reaction of the team when Brian O’Driscoll was named Ireland’s sexiest man by Social & Personal magazine?
A lot of these things go over our head because we’re cocooned in our own little world in camp. You wouldn’t hear that, but it’s a pity we didn’t hear it ‘cos he would have had the piss ripped out of him. These things are just taken as a bit of a laugh.
For a while, our captain and his model girlfriend, Glenda Gilson, were being seen as the Posh and Becks of Irish sport, which I doubt you would have got in Willy John McBride’s day?
The profile has definitely risen and that’s symptomatic of the way Irish people are. They like to get behind winning teams. Whatever sport is going well, you’ll find the kids out doing it. And the Irish rugby team is going well at the moment, so it is giving young fellas another sport to follow.
Are there any models that you have your eye on?
Ah no. I have the same girlfriend since college so I’ve avoided that trap.
Just thinking about it, the schedule and the demands of being a professional rugby player must make it very difficult to have a personal life?
The profile has risen a fair bit but once you come back to Cork, there’s no problem in going about your daily routine. People are very courteous and generous in their praise at times but other than that, it doesn’t affect me in any way.
Even in terms of time? Considering you spend so much time away from home…
Well, yeah, that can be difficult but that is the career we have chosen. If you’re lucky enough to play for your country you make all these sacrifices. If you play for Ireland the advantages far outweigh the negatives. I appreciate just how lucky I have been and the opportunity I’ve been given.
Some fellas would be paranoid spending so much time away from their partners that they might get more attention somewhere else. Has that happened to you?
[laughs] Not yet anyway.
When you’re not training or playing, what do you do to relax?
Horse racing is probably my one escape. That’s about it really. There’s not that much spare time. I might have an odd Sunday afternoon off to watch the races but it’s usually work six days a week.
So do you follow the form when it comes to the horses?
Not really form. Mainly tips. Most of them are brutal though [laughs].
Do you listen to music at all?
Yeah, but I’ve a terrible CD collection.
What’s in it to make it so bad?
Well, it’s not that terrible. U2 would be the band I’d know most about but I’m a big time novice in terms of music. Dance music is great for the gym because it really helps you train. But as for my knowledge of music, it is pathetic.
I know Shane Horgan and Dennis Hickie are big music fans and are regular gig goers. Do they impose their musical tastes on the rest of the squad?
Dennis is usually in charge of music on the bus. There’s a wide variety of tastes but a lot of it meets with approval. The two lads go to a lot of gigs in Dublin and Malcolm O’Kelly is big into music as well. A lot of the fellas are into it and have their MP3 players and all, but I’m way off the pace.
What do you watch on TV?
Sport and the news, that’s about it. I’ll watch any sport at all.
Favourite Food?
I like my food a lot. I reckon Thai is my favourite.
Favourite Drink?
Doctor Pepper. I lived in the States for a good while as a young fella. Some people don’t like it at all but I think it’s alright.
Down through the years rugby would have had an association with drinking, in terms of the few pints after the match. Is there pressure on you now not to drink at all?
I drink very, very irregularly. With the schedule nowadays, you have a big game nearly every week, so you have to keep it to your summer holidays and maybe one day at Christmas. It has changed, big time. Even when I first came into professionalism in 1997, it was the norm after a game to have a drink. But now standards are so high and it is so competitive that you have to be on the ball Monday morning and if you have a few pints on Saturday night, it definitely affects your performance.
So what would have been the normal routine is now a no go area?
It differs for everyone. There is nobody cracking a whip here. It depends. I am small in terms of physique so alcohol has a greater effect on me but some of the forwards, it has no effect on them. There are times when you can let your hair down and slip away for a day or two but it is becoming rarer and rarer, unfortunately.
So when you’re on holidays, are you a pints man or a bottle of wine?
I’d be a pints or bottles man, but not really bottles of wine. I would drink wine, occasionally, but on holidays you try and make the most of it.
Years ago the post-training winding down process would have involved a few pints of stout but now it’s more likely to include a fearsome regime of stretching, running and ice cold baths. What’s all that about?
The ice baths are very good for any bangs, bruises or knocks. Once you spend two minutes in them, you come out feeling like you’ve a new pair of legs. I’d be a big fan of them. They’re painful at the time but in terms of recovery they’re great.
As a Corkman, did you feel very involved in the whole Roy Keane saga in Saipan?
I did, yeah. I’d be a massive Roy Keane fan, not because I’m from here but I admire everything he’s about. His competitive drive and will to win is something I can associate with, being a sports person. If you ask anyone in the last 10 years, he has to be one of Ireland’s greatest ambassadors.
Was he right to walk out at the time?
A lot of people are angry at the fact that he walked out on his country but I think that’s something people shouldn’t really comment on. Roy himself is the only one who can comment on it because he’s the only person who was in that position. A lot of people say he should have waited until afterwards but Roy sets such high standards for himself that maybe he felt he wasn’t being honest to himself and that was his way of showing it. I can see where he’s coming from. I hugely admire Roy Keane.
So, emotionally, your support was with Roy then?
I don’t have any problem with Mick McCarthy. I can just see that as a player, if Roy isn’t getting the best for Roy, something has to give. Is he better to sit and suffer, to not do himself and his country justice, and be dishonest to himself?
Apparently, when he came back to Cork after Saipan, he took a fair amount of abuse from members of the public. As a well-known sportsman, have you ever had people wanting to have a go at you?
A bit. You’re always going to have begrudgers. As I said before, the positives completely outweigh the negatives. But there are plenty of smart-asses out there as well, fellas who will have a go at you. The more successful you get, the more you find that everyone is entitled to their opinion. That’s part of being in the public eye.
So what’s the worst thing that happened you?
Thankfully, I don’t have any one incident that haunts me. I’ve had a few comments here and there but it’s par for the course.
You don’t lose any sleep over it then?
You’d be taken aback at the time, alright, but after a while it moves on.
Who’s the greatest Cork sportsperson ever?
In my era, it’s Roy Keane, but there’s also greats like Jack Lynch and Christy Ring. Sonia has been amazing as well. And not to forget Dennis Irwin, who has slipped into the background. Jimmy Barry Murphy was another big name.
You grew up playing rugby. But what would you say is the most important thing that shaped your life as a kid?
I think kids shouldn’t focus on one sport. They should try to play as many as they can. When they get to a certain age they can decide which one suits them best. I played them all; pitch & putt, golf, tennis, hurling, football, soccer. I went to a rugby school then, so I had to give priority to that.
When did you realise you were good at rugby?
I don’t think you ever ask yourself that question. You just get taken away with the flow and try to get on the best team you can at every possible age. It just spirals from there.
As a rugby player, what was your reaction to the killing outside Annabel’s nightclub, which involved young men from rugby schools. Did that have any special resonance for you?
It was awfully sad. Unless you’re there, it’s very hard to comment on it because you don’t have the full details of everything that happened. You can see both sides of it. Obviously, it’s tragic for the fellas involved but the other poor family lost a son. It’s a sad time for everyone involved. I don’t think people set out that night with the intention that another human being’s life would be lost. That’s when nights go very, very wrong.
It would be a fairly widely held view that successive Governments have failed to deal adequately with sport. Do you think that is starting to change?
Sport is a massive industry and it is becoming bigger and bigger. Priority is coming but facilities aren’t good enough in Ireland and that is holding us back. If you look at the UK, what they have compared to what we have here, we don’t have a good stadium and that is disappointing. Obviously, Lansdowne Road is really special because it is one of the oldest grounds in the world and it’s a fantastic place to play, but in terms of generating revenue for soccer or rugby games, you would have no problem getting 80,000 people to go to them. You look at Thomond Park: its capacity is around 15,000 and you could get 60,000 there for our home games with Munster.The sooner we have a few decent stadia the better.
When Lansdowne Road closes for refurbishment, are you expecting rugby to be played in Croke Park?
I’d love rugby to be played there. I think the moves are on but there are certain people for it and others against it. You can see both arguments. It is a quality stadium, a fantastic stadium, which is only being completed now. The capacity there is around 79,000, so why not use it?
One of the other options that was suggested was playing our home games in Cardiff. How happy would you be as an Irishman playing your home games in another country, knowing that there is a perfectly good stadium in Drumcondra?
I don’t think that will happen. I hope it won’t happen. It can’t happen, for the sake of supporters who are spending enough money as it is, coming to see us in away games. You have to give people a fair crack.
One problem with Croke Park is that the surface is reportedly really hard, with the potential to cause injury to players. Would that worry you?
It would. You have to take into account players’ welfare. Unless you try it out you can’t knock it, but it seems that a lot of players are affected by the surface, especially when it rains – they can’t keep their footing.
Do you think the Government is in a strong enough position to force the GAA’s hand on the use of Croke Park for other sports?
I don’t know. The GAA is a powerful organisation. There are people there with strong views on why it should be kept for the GAA and I can see their viewpoint. The bottom line is that if Croke Park is ruled out, a lot of people would be disappointed and I think the rugby players would be as well.
Are you superstitious at all? Is there any ritual that you have before a game?
I’m not superstitious but I always bless myself when I take to the field.
So are you religious?
I have a strong belief in God. I try to go to mass as often as I can. I don’t go every Sunday: with my schedule, that’s not possible, but I would put a bit of emphasis on that in my life, which I suppose nowadays is probably very uncommon among my peers. I believe that things happen for a reason. I don’t get too carried away with it, I’m not old-fashioned religious but I pray and I believe that something might come out of that.
Have you always been religious or did something happen that caused you to believe?
I always have been. I feel good about going to mass. I don’t ask when I pray, I thank when I pray.
So what are you going to do when it’s finally time to hang up the boots? I’m sure Fianna Fail would love to have Ronan O’Gara on their election ticket in Cork?
It won’t be politics anyway [laughs]. I don’t know what’s around the corner. It could be all over next week. My outlook on life is to enjoy it and have a bit of a laugh, but treating it seriously at the same time. I have this block of Six Nations games, then a game to look forward to with Munster but come April or May, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved over the last few campaigns with Ireland and it’s gone well by keeping that attitude so I’ll just deal with what I can control. If I get a bad injury and have to retire, that’s another day’s work.
You’re very definite that you wouldn’t go down the political route. Are you not a fan of politicians?
I’m just not knowledgeable enough for that life. I’d have other areas of interest, maybe in business.
It must be strange that you will have to start out on another career in your mid-30s, almost 15 years after most people?
Absolutely. We’ve got to make the most of it when we are playing rugby. You are going to be a lot older than other people when you’re looking for a job. But hopefully, with rugby you meet some interesting people and you can get something else going that, hopefully, won’t involve nine-to-five.
Presumably you’re not looking for George Hook’s job either?
Television is an area of interest for me but that’s for a select few and you’d want to be very good at it.
Are you comfortable being a role model for kids?
It’s only when I get asked questions like this that I think about it. You just have to go about it as if it’s your job and take every day as it comes. I don’t look upon myself as a role model for anyone. I don’t look upon myself as a high profile rugby player. I just am who I am and I don’t see myself as any different to anyone else out there. I think if you do, then you’re falling into a celebrity trap which wouldn’t interest me.

Photo by Liam Sweeney.