The Irish have been calling for it for years. The Argentineans call him Ronan No Ganar, which translates simply as “Ronan doesn’t win.”
In fairness, the Irish fly-half has been in fluctuating form since his match-winning drop-goal that galvanised the Irish into a frenzy of celebrations not felt in over 50 years.
The Irish welcome the might of an out of sorts Springbok outfit who have lost three of their last four matches. Surely this is not a time for experimenting when the opportunity to scalp the World Champions and current Tri Nations holders is on the menu.
Johnny Sexton has been watched closely for years now and the man took his chance when he was handed it last week landing two penalties and five conversions in Ireland’s 41-6 win over Fiji.
He’s a spritely young fly-half with a solid kicking game, crisp pass and improved place-kicking.
Surely, this youngster can’t compare to the experience of O’Gara? It’s a bold move and Declan Kidney has made plenty in the last few months.
It must be remembered that O’Gara has steered Ireland to two of Ireland’s three victories over the South Africans. His cheeky tap and run for the try-line against a completely against completely unexpected Springbok defence will remain in Irish folklore for years.
Hopefully Sexton’s appointment with the ‘Boks is met with confidence and precision against his opponent in the guise of the powerful, potent, point-scoring boot of Morne Steyn.
Sexton’s promotion over O’Gara definitely shows the confidence placed on the young man’s shoulders but he should be able to measure up to it. He’s definitely one to watch for the future.
Ireland team:
Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll (capt), Paddy Wallace, Keith Earls, Jonathan Sexton, Tomas O’Leary, Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris, Paul O’Connell, Donncha O’Callaghan, John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Cian Healy.Replacements: Sean Cronin, Tony Buckley, Leo Cullen, Denis Leamy, Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara, Gordon D’Arcy.
Chris
Guest
At his best O'Gara had the best kicking game in world rugby bar none.
Dublin Dave
Guest
"Cheika was very sceptical about Sexton though wasn’t he, Pothale? It took him ages to put him in. I wonder why that was? " VC Cheika tended to play Sexton in Magners League games to bring him along but for the big HC gamess he would play Felipe Contepomi at 10. Which kind of answers your question. Contepomi, at his peak, was world class. A superb distributor. A great eye for a counter attack. Not a bad kicker. And well able to make a break himself. No criticism for a young player to play second fiddle to someone like him.
Derm
Roar Guru
LLWC=SA
Knives Out
Guest
I think that O'Gara has been an excellent playmaker for Ireland. His passing is incisive and he reads the game well. Not only that but he has a nice turn of pace and when operating on the gain line is far more threatening than a lot of other test 10s: Wilkinson, Steyn, Jones, Gower... 14 tries for a player who has solely played 10 is an impressive feat.
PastHisBest
Roar Guru
I'm confused. So what do you mean by this statement? “Paul Honiss is still reviled in the Land of the Long Whine Cloud for that piece of reffing.”
PastHisBest
Roar Guru
He ain't 'absolutely phenomenal'.
Josh Dutton
Roar Rookie
Haha, it was completely unexpected pothale. It wasn't set defence at all. I think that's what makes it amusing and it did prove to be the difference between those two sides that day (Ireland won 17-12). I'm bad at detecting sarcasm :( In all honesty I think very highly of O'Gara but believe the Irish backs might get better ball with a more expansive fly-half. They really do have one of the most underrated backlines in the world. Thanks for all the comments again guys. I always enjoy a bit of intelligent rugby banter.
Derm
Roar Guru
Long Whine Cloud was spelt intentionally to not be a reference to NZ, PHB. I was maybe too subtle with my word play. I don't regard NZ as whiners.
Derm
Roar Guru
Come on what? PastHisBest.
Darwin hammer
Roar Rookie
I agree with this - he's not "an absolutely phenomenal player” ... he's consistently come up short against the SH teams - the true test of a 1st 5 that wants to be considered "great" .... quoting what other players say is an exercise in recalling bumpf and soundbites - Carters hardly going to say he's limited in the extreme and a turnstyle in a 10 jersey - but he can kick quite nicely ... PHB is right is saying that his play has limited the Irish - their rankings would have been better served with someone with a bit more game - a Tony Ward for example
PastHisBest
Roar Guru
"Paul Honiss is still reviled in the Land of the Long Whine Cloud for that piece of reffing." Paul Honiss is reviled for a lot of reasons in NZ Pothale, but over this decision? Not likely, most NZ'ers would be rapt if Ireland got one over the boks.
PastHisBest
Roar Guru
I don't think anyone is getting too excited VC. However on first blush I agree with Pothale that he does have 'it'. Now will that translate into a long term tenure in the Ireland 10 jersey? Time will tell.
PastHisBest
Roar Guru
Cobblers. "People easily remember the mishaps, the poor tackles..." Exactly. This is not the stuff they remember about the truly 'phenomenal' number 10's. "And don’t take my word for it – you can find equally praiseworthy comments from Carter about him." I won't. What's Carter going to say?? That O'Gara is a goose and can't tell his arse from his elbow? Come on Pothale...
PastHisBest
Roar Guru
"Granted, his tackling is poor (though a lot better than Danny Cipriani’s) and he can’t pass consistently from his left hand" For these very reasons he was most definitely not "an absolutely phenomenal player", as you so enthusiastically describe him VC. In many ways I believe his shortcomings restricted the Irish backline for many years.
Derm
Roar Guru
Darwin - re-read what he said: "O'Gara, at his peak, was an absolutely phenomenal player." He was. His reading and direction of matches was superb for both club and country. His kicking stats speak for themselves. People easily remember the mishaps, the poor tackles, and the Lions fluff. If you've watched him over his career, he has had plenty of fine moments on the field, and ranks as one of the best flyhalves, not just for his country, but also in the world game. And don't take my word for it - you can find equally praiseworthy comments from Carter about him. VC, is not saying, and neither am I, that he is better than Carter. Neither do I accept that operating on 2 cylinders, Carter is better than him. There may be some skill levels between flyhalves, but at the top level, it's not that wide. To keep you happy, O'Gara said last year that he saw Carter as his role model - that Carter was no 1 in the world, O'Gara wanted to be at least No 2. A fine compliment to an undoubted star of the game.
Darwin hammer
Roar Rookie
VC - surely you're not trying to put OGara in the same class as Carter ? ... operating on just 2 cyclinders Carter is still on a different planet to O'Gara
Lee
Guest
Come on Pothale, every nation has it's share of angst against certain decisions; BOD in 2005 Lions, NZ world cup 2007, SA - Ireland 2004 just for recent examples, and they all still get brought up. And besides, like the Henry handball, both are clear errors by the ref, and I have a funny feeling the Henry incident will still draw anger from Irish fans 20 years later e.g the "underarm" delivery in NZ
Derm
Roar Guru
Paul Honiss is still reviled in the Land of the Long Whine Cloud for that piece of reffing. I like the fact that Josh sees it as a 'completely unexpected Springbok defence'. Is he trying to imply that they were prepared for it after all, then? :) It's hardly in Irish folklore, though. Most people forgot about it, until it's the next time to play South Africa, and then it's dragged up again. But as PdV made very clear, this match is not about revenge.
Lee
Guest
Replay? It was a refing blunder, they happen every game(in all codes), no matter how aggrieved you feel you deal with it - I just like how the article completely glosses over the ref's error in that try.
Chris K
Guest
Yeh mate exactly, the springboks are still calling for blood because of it after all these years som much so that the springboks asked for a replay. What was the result for the replay by the way?