Interview with Ronan O'GaraJohn O'Sullivan finds the Ireland outhalf quietly optimistic the team can finally deliver on its rich promise
As puzzles go it's probably more of the cryptic than the simplex variety: why Ireland's backline in this season's Six Nations Championship, aside from a glorious 30-minute, second-half rampage against France in Paris, has failed to ignite.
It's a unit endowed with sublime individual talent, but collectively it hasn't delivered on the obvious potential to wreak havoc. Periodic wind and rain and the dominance in the tournament of organised, massed defences offer some mitigation but don't fully explain the disappearance of the swash and the buckle.
Ireland head for Twickenham on Saturday hoping to replicate training-ground precision in the match environment, finally producing the quality backplay of which they are eminently capable.
Meanwhile, in poring over the video of the Scotland match, outhalf Ronan O'Gara may have alighted on a stumbling block.
"The one thing that frustrates me is that we have to just catch the ball," he says. "Sometimes with the pressure people are under, be it farther out the line or in phase play, the people who are receiving are looking to go through a hole.
"Five, 10, 15 yards from the opposition line there aren't many holes. You have to catch the ball first as opposed to running through the hole without the ball. That's an area we can improve on. I feel we have another few gears to go up.
"As regards where we are in comparison to other backlines, I still feel we're on a par at least."
O'Gara wins his 60th cap against England and is relishing the prospect of a momentous tussle and its attendant pressures. He knows at 29 years of age the importance of living in the present and enjoying these occasions, aware of the precariousness of professional sport. He cites the example of his close friend Frankie Sheahan and Munster team-mates Alan Quinlan and Mike Mullins, all sidelined through injury.
Maturity has taught him to prioritise and not to be sidetracked by ancillary issues. He is buffered by a regime of hard work that underpins his confidence and subdues misgivings. Occasionally he has to remove the blinkers and appreciate other aspects of life.
"I've found that as my career has gone on I have less and less spare time," he muses.
"You have to discipline yourself to take time off. The work ethic I have seen from (players in) other countries, I've tapped into that a little bit. I set my own standards and make up my own rules.
"There's no point in practising something unless you are practising it right. Sometimes there are days when you have to get through the work even when it isn't going well for you. I've seen other people who have quit when things aren't going well but I don't believe in that."
Two years ago at Twickenham he rattled a post with a relatively easy penalty. It was his first kick of the game but he didn't let it affect him, emphatically proving the point by kicking brilliantly thereafter.
"It doesn't really matter at this stage of my career where the kick is. It may sound stupid to some people - a kick from the touchline is the same procedure as a kick from in front of the posts, if you strike it right.
"If it's 50-yards plus, that's a different thing, but if you're looking around the conversion zone then every kick is the same."
He cites Munster's Heineken European Cup defeat to Northampton as a watershed in his attitude to his place-kicking responsibilities.
"The best thing I learnt came from that disappointment of losing to Northampton. I had to address it and learn something. If you don't - brush it under the carpet - it'll come back to haunt you . . . As difficult as it was being a young person, it's important you take those things on the chin and move on."
It's fair to say that he has moved on and in some style.
Will the swingeing changes made by England coach Andy Robinson following last Sunday's defeat in Paris provoke a mighty backlash?
O'Gara says, "I think there will be huge consequences. I haven't seen them play as poorly as that. England never got back into the game, which is surprising with the quality of people they have.
"New Zealand are the last team to beat England at Twickenham and that was by one score. I think you'll see a different England this Saturday.
"A lot happens in a week, but I think it's all about us this week. There is plenty of belief and confidence. We can't rely on England playing poorly.
"We are expecting England to play well and hopefully we play well - and then game on. I have plenty of faith in the people we have. The English people are perceived to have more self-confidence. I don't think that's a trait we're lacking in, to be honest. We go about it in a different way. There are plenty of people in our team that have shown character over the years."
O'Gara views Saturday's game as simply another big match, the third time in as many seasons this Irish team has contended for honours.
"You have one of these a season if you look at the last few years. It's not a standout game. It would be a good way to finish our international season, to win this weekend. I still think there is more to come. There are good players in our team and I don't think people appreciate that yet. There's no better stage to try and perform."
