My first week as an Ireland coach: There won't be any Saipans in Irish rugby

I was catching flies, with my mouth open, watching the maestro Joe Schmidt in action, writes Ronan O’Gara.

I was awake at 3am on Tuesday morning in Dublin. Just to get good at it, I was up again at 5am and 6.30am. First day as a coach in the Irish camp was like first day at school. Who’d have thought it?

The stomach-turning mix of uncertainty and excitement was something I wasn’t geared up for. I met Simon Easterby on Monday night. We agreed on one thing: If you are not excited heading into a coaching opportunity like this, you are in the wrong game.