Ronan O’Gara: Memo to Ultan and Alex: The only target to hit is the one in front of you
One of the players I enjoyed working with at Racing 92 in Paris was full back Brice Dulin. We developed a great relationship with a shared ambition of excellence.
Insofar as any signing is a coach’s decision, I had no hesitation in going after Dulin this year to join our project here in La Rochelle.
He is 30 now but there is a mountain of good rugby in him still. He is a perfect example of the long and winding road back from a cruciate ligament tear. He ruptured an ACL in 2018 at Racing.
He was medically fit to play nine months later, but in truth it took quite a bit longer for him to properly find his stride. He was average for a lot of 2019 but began to regain that pep in his step towards the end of last year.
All in all, it took around 15 months. He was playing away - surviving, not thriving. I asked him to come play with us and he has left a good club with a good infrastructure behind him to do so. That’s a vote of confidence in itself.
When Munster fans begin thumbing through their calendars to establish when the giant South African RG Snyman will be back in red, they might do well to remember Brice Dulin, and many other examples of ACL tear sufferers.
You recover medically in nine months, but it can be some time later before you are hitting your straps. Snyman is a potential game-changer for Munster but he is out of consideration now. That’s the harsh reality of professional sport.
Munster will move on, they must move on. A door opens for somebody else. What got lost in the aftermath of the game against Leinster last Saturday was the first inklings, to my eye anyway, of a shift in the momentum between the provinces.
There was a lot for Munster to take out of that game, injuries notwithstanding – especially up front. Attack-wise, the likes of Joey Carbery will stir something creative into the mix. Patience is not in ready supply around Munster but it’s needed.
However, the most interesting weekend rugby developments were in Connacht’s win over Ulster last Sunday at the Aviva. When we lived in Paris, Jess and I made a habit of toddling off down to the Centre Culturel Irlandais on a Sunday morning. We became friendly with a very nice French couple. A French man and his Irish wife, who turned out to be Ultan Dillane’s godparents.
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James and Gwen were tight with his mum, Ellen Dillane, a nurse at the Bon Secours in Tralee who sadly, and prematurely, passed away last year.
Every Sunday we would get chapter and verse on their golden godchild, every minute detail of Ultan’s performances with Connacht. His performance, his tackles, his injuries, every up and down.
However, no scouting report was required last Sunday to see how impressive the 26-year-old, who settled in Tralee but was born in Paris, was against Ulster. Maybe I watch games with a different eye these days but anyone watching in and seeing his capabilities for the first time must have been thinking ‘wow’. He is only 26. It’s all still out there for Ultan Dillane if he wants it.
On Sunday he looked ravenous, very focused, and made lots of good, intelligent decisions. 2021 may be a big year for Dillane.
I could well say the same for Alex Wootton. A penny for his thoughts ahead of a Connacht debut last Sunday.
I am sure he is still craving a proper opportunity at his parent club, Munster. Andrew Conway and Keith Earls are ahead of him at the minute but he must be thinking if he can get another 25 games under his belt at a progressive set-up like Connacht, he is going to be ready to make that position his own in Limerick sooner rather than later.
Earlsie is a freak but he is nearly 33 all the same, and somebody needs to be ready to take the pass, so to speak.
If Wootton (again, 26 like Dillane), keeps playing like he did against Ulster, he has a chance. His decision-making in terms of when to offload, and when not to, was really interesting.
A lot of players force the pass. There is nothing as frustrating as a 20m break by someone who undoes all the good work by forcing a pass, mistiming it, or getting tackled into touch. Wootton’s primary and secondary decisions were really good last Sunday.
He comes up against Munster this weekend and like Dillane, will be eager to bring Week 1 form into the second game.
Connacht were humming on Sunday. John Porch looked excellent, and some of the rugby Andy Friend’s side played was sumptuous. How they only scraped home is the only issue.
Bundee Aki looked fit and hungry on his 100th game. The half backs linked well and played with great variety. If you are part of Friend’s coaching team, you felt pretty good about yourself on Monday morning.
Come Tuesday, though, there are fresh targets to prepare for.
La Rochelle lost 38-0 last Friday in Limoges to Toulouse in a pre-season game. It sounds worse than it was, I promise. It was 7-0 after 58 minutes and we mixed and matched quite a bit.
But tonight’s game against Agen is our final hit-out before the Top 14 resumes on September 5 against Toulon. We need to be getting a shape on a team.
We’ve been building up steadily, integrating the new lads into the group, and feeding off their enthusiasm and energy. Covid is an ever-present cloud but you do your testing, you adhere to the protocols and you proceed with as much normality as possible.
The squad is in full contact mode now. Once you start contact it’s on for the season, so I leave it as late as possible. Will Skelton, who has come in this year from Saracens, has brought a huge amount to the group already – and I emphasise the word ‘huge’.
The stats say he is 125kgs but I must check the machine. Maybe I am talking out of place, but he is going to be an important piece of the jigsaw for us. And he is only 28.
So, it’s easy to imagine the impact Snyman could have for Munster. And, for certain, will have, in the future.
But wondering what might have been is a waste of energy. When the truncated Top 14 season finished last season, it left us all wondering. We were robbed of knockout rugby, the real learning phase of the season.
Hence, we got no idea what sort of animal will come out in a player in the play-offs. That wrecked my head. There’s an asterisk there. It’s like I am starting again at La Rochelle. The regular season is different to the ‘barrage’. We were fifth when the campaign was halted, strong at home, far too inconsistent on the road.
There’s a domestic campaign and a Champions Cup schedule to look forward to. The latest I hear is that the proposed new format for Europe will be unveiled next week and the pools confirmed at a later date. It’s something you just park and put all your energy into the target directly in front of you.
Same as Munster. As Alex Wootton. As Ultan Dillane.
