Ronan O'Gara and Keith Wood dropped into Monday Night Rugby on Off the Ball where the pair spoke some of the mental and technical aspects of their games.

The pair only played together briefly at Munster but represented Ireland together until 2003 when Wood retired after that World Cup.

As an out-half and hooker, both had technical responsibilities within the team in the form of placekicking and lineout throwing, both discipline require specialist training and control of nerves. The players spoke about their struggles with both.

"We had no coaching for line-outs, ever..."

Keith Wood & Ronan O'Gara on rugby's training & technical advances 🏉📺@VodafoneIreland #TeamOfUshttps://t.co/BGpOCa4Ybb

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Ronan O'Gara's technique evolved over time as he was constantly taking on guidance from more experienced players as well as having what he deemed only moderately successful online coaching from Dave Alred.

The fly-half recalled advice from Keith Wood early in his career: "[how] have I less margin of error to not mess this up?"

Thought process

O'Gara then broke down his thought process on how he managed his nerves and self-doubt when kicking.

"My walk-in should be perfect every single time," says Ireland's record points-scorer. "There aren't that many things that you have to get right and it's not that difficult, but don't underestimate it either.

"So for that, you have to have a secure mindset starting off. The younger you are and if you are playing with legends, the more you can be filled with doubt if you miss.

"There were times over the career in the early stage where you're kinda 'maybe for the good of this team, I should hand over this tee.' That's what I was thinking deep down.

Despite thinking he didn't want the responsibility, having it taken away was a haunting thought.

"Then if someone took the tee, by God, imagine your life like that?

"That's how you'd honestly feel. That's what was so great about playing with Munster and Ireland at the time, we could have those real discussions."

Keith Wood admitted to 'hating' throwing the ball into the lineout, but O'Gara believes that is to do with the different levels of evolution in the two disciplines.

"Kicking, I think, has stayed pretty consistent in the last 100 years in rugby union," according to O'Gara, "whereas the advances in the lineout and throwing have absolutely been scary.

"You look at games even from 2000 and you look at the quality of lift, the quality of throw, to what's involved in the creation of a lineout, to where the game is now, it looks nearly like a different game.

"At least with kicking it has stayed quite consistent in terms of what is expected."

Learning on a Lions tour

Given the sheer volume of bodies populating a professional rugby backroom team, Keith Wood backed up O'Gara's point about the lineout's evolution.

"We had no coaching for lineouts," says the former Harlequin. "The only person who ever gave me any coaching for lineouts, strangely enough, was Ian McGeechan, a centre, on the Lions tour in 1997.

"It was to do with a bit of security, I 'd had a few operations six weeks before the tour, and it was to have the stability to have the ball resting back before I threw it.

"That was the only coaching I got in my whole career, but that's totally changed now, there are lineout coaches all over."

This revelation is one O'Gara finds difficult to imagine in the modern coaching setup.

"The fact you are essential learning on a Lions tour," says O'Gara, "whereas nowadays these guys are at the peak of their powers when they are performing at the level of a Lions tour.

"The difference in mindset for you as the starting hooker in the test team and you're essentially breaking down your throw on a tour by a guy who played centre, it's fascinating, but that's where we were at the time."

Both men were frank about the troubles that plagued their careers and O'Gara says it is because they tackled those issues that they can speak freely.

"You can talk about the demons when you have countered them," says O'Gara, "that's a great satisfaction now. They appear for everyone but you have just got to keep cutting them."

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