O’Gara slowly getting down to business

Life in Paris, and his new career with Racing Metro 92, became that bit more real this week for Ronan O’Gara, who spent two days in the French capital where he met with the club’s new coaches, Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit.

It was the former Munster and Irish out-half’s first visit to his new base of operations since signing a deal with club owner Jacky Lorenzetti, in London, to work as a coach for an outfit which has also captured Jonathan Sexton from Leinster.

For O’Gara, speaking in Dublin at the launch of the 1% Difference campaign to encourage a culture of philanthropy, it was the first real opportunity to road test his French which, despite reports to the contrary, he insists is far from fluent.

“I’m handy enough at it but the tenses are very rusty, I’m far from fluent. It’s very important obviously. Playing is probably easy but coaching, delivering the message, is what’s important, rather than how you say it.

“It will be tough going, we had a 10-hour meeting over two days. It was grand when they were speaking to you but when they’re speaking among themselves you’re kind of nodding your head, you know?”

‘Les Deux Laurents’ have started life in Paris on the back of their Top 14 title success with Castres who defeated Toulon in the final at Stade de France earlier this month and O’Gara confirmed again that he will essentially serve as their junior.

“There are two coaches, 42 professional players and I’ll be looking at all the kicking elements of the game, strategy, reads and focusing on individual players, video reviews. It seems to me there is an awful lot in it.”

Many of the questions O’Gara faced yesterday had already been addressed in his weekly column for this paper: it will be 90% working with the first XV, 10% with the academy; no, he won’t lace up the boots in an emergency; and, no, he won’t just be Sexton’s kicking guru.

“No, not at all. I don’t know where these things come out of. I’m not a kicking coach to Jonny Sexton, that is just 10% of the brief. There is quality all the way through the side, with Jonathan, Wisniewski, and Juan Hernandez. It isn’t one player in the back line that kicks, the six of them can kick. I like to think the kicking comes easy to me, that’s what I want to work on, that’s what I’m interested in and challenge myself.

” All the drills I’ve done down the years. I’ve written down a lot of stuff that I like, plenty of logs and logbooks and I’ll be dipping into them and seeing what I can bring from a training point of view.”

O’Gara swapped some detailed texts with Sexton on Tuesday but is anxious to keep a respectful distance while his former international colleague concentrates on the Lions, with whom he faces Australia in the first of three tests this Saturday.

The three-time Lion predicted an opening victory for Warren Gatland’s side but expressed concern over an injury list that has already accounted for key men such as Cian Healy and Jamie Roberts.

“They have to be careful, I think, because if they lose one or two more players in crucial positions, it’s going to weaken them. Their depth will be challenged, especially three big games in a week, but I just think at the minute they’re better players than the Australians.”