Any former teammate of Ronan O’Gara talks about him with the utmost of admiration and respect for his work ethic.
As Alan Quinlan said on this morning’s OTB AM, coaching was a natural progression for O’Gara saying, “He was like a coach when you played with him anyway.”
Quinlan lauded his detail and intelligence in the run up to games when it came to analysing the opposition’s strengths, weaknesses, systems and structures.
European Rugby Champions Cup Round 2, Thomond Park, Limerick 21/10/2017Munster vs Racing 92
Racing's Assistant Coach Ronan O'Gara
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Bryan Keane
But it was clear that all this preparation and fixation took its toll on O’Gara mentally during his playing days:
“I never really enjoyed the build-up. I found it too overcoming”
“I was way too stressed. Much too stressed. I didn’t enjoy it really. I enjoyed the winning dressing room. I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment, but I never really enjoyed the build-up.”
O’Gara admits that he was quite pessimistic about his preparation and he regrets causing himself such mental stress, and playing mistakes over and over in his head in the aftermath of games.
Coach O'Gara
Now though, things have changed. He says his experience with the Crusaders in New Zealand has changed his mentality for the better.
“I’m very different in that regard now. It’s not what can go wrong, it’s what can go right.”
“I just feel a lot more confident.”
O’Gara attributes a lot of this change to Crusader’s head-coach and former All-Black Scott Robertson.
“I’ve never come across a coach like Razor (Robinson). He’s quite different, he’s a bit of a mad genius. He excels around mindset”
“It’s fascinating how he views the game, how he views people’s minds and how he can get the best out of them.”
“It’s always what’s best for the team, you just gotta park your ego before you come to the dressing room”
Catch the entire chat on our YouTube channel and the rest of our rugby content!
Words: Iarla Muldoon
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