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20th February 2021
02:11pm GMT

Ronan O'Gara and Paul O'Connell celebrate after a 2013 Heineken Cup quarter final win over Harlequins. (Credit: Brendan Moran/SPORTSFILE)[/caption]
"I'd be a little bit worried if Paul was going in as head coach of Ireland," Ronan O'Gara begins, "because he doesn't have that experience.
"What is experience? Experience is putting yourself in the same situations, and getting a better result or outcome the next time." O'Gara continues:
"But Paul is doing a role that he is very, very, very good at. He knows the subject matter inside out. He is so well prepared. He's very hard working, has a great brain, very good attitude. He's got many sides to him that a lot of people don't know. "It's a great time for any forward to be involved in Irish rugby. That's how I would view it. I've come across very, very few people like him in the world. And I've travelled a bit with coaching. "He's obviously a very good friend but, parking that, I think in terms of judging him, he can call it and give you the harsh truth. But he can also be very warm, very encouraging and a very smart person as well, which is important. People associate hardness and ruthlessness and 'Fear of God' with Paul, but that's 1% of him."O'Gara has made no secret of his desire to one day become head coach of Ireland. He has gone abroad to pick up experience working with different, world-class players, coaches and clubs and is now a season and a half into his first head coach gig with La Rochelle. He has that side leading the Top 14 standings and set for the Champions Cup knock-out stages. On O'Connell, all reports from the Ireland camp are about how much he has improved the set-pieces (lineout and scrum) and the maul. Despite Ireland's opening Six Nations losses, their scrum and lineout have improved on the team's 2020 showings. We may have to wait a while longer, but do not be surprised if O'Connell and O'Gara do finally link up together again. The only gripe for Munster supporters is that they may be both on the Ireland coaching ticket.
*Ronan O'Gara was helping to launch the Safe To Dream Team, an online hub which aims to improve access for young people on their sporting journey within clubs or at home, through online skills videos, and advice and support from leading sports ambassadors.
WATCH THAT FULL RONAN O'GARA INTERVIEW HERE:
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