Kieran Shannon: By being such a student of winning, Ronan O’Gara has become one of its best teachers

Outside of actually shadowing and meeting Ronan O’Gara, his columns are essentially coaching masterclasses, regardless of what your sport is

Ronan O’Gara has managed to get his players and club to appreciate the urgency of now while having an eye to being even better tomorrow. Picture: INPHO/Dave Winter

The same year Ronan O’Gara went from being a player to a coach, he brought out the second though hardly last book he’ll ever do, appropriately-titled, given his candid nature, Unguarded.

In its penultimate chapter, as he documented his first preseason as part of the coaching staff at Racing 92, he revealed how jotting things down was a habit of his regardless of whether he had an upcoming book or column to do for public consumption.