O’Gara has big prizes in his sights

“IT’S just another game but this time there’s a big prize at the end of it.”

Ronan O’Gara’s words mirror the mood in the Irish camp on the eve of the Triple Crown decider at Lansdowne Road. It’s an attitude geared towards reducing pressure and not letting the magnitude of the occasion quash the dream of a nation.

Win or lose, though, O’Gara will be around for at least another three years, having agreed a new contract with Munster and the IRFU.

“I’m delighted to be staying with Munster and Alan Gaffney, who has been a big influence on my career. It’s great to see the ambition that signed Christian Cullen. I’m not going to walk away until we win a European Cup and if we win it, we’ll want to retain it. You want to be playing with one of the best teams in Europe and Munster certainly qualify.”

But back to tomorrow, and the more immediate Holy Grail of O’Gara’s career, a career which has blossomed with his first-choice role at outhalf in this campaign. While he relishes that situation, he is also conscious of the responsibility every outhalf bears.

“We’ve got a great match to finish the championship,” enthuses Ronan. “Mentally all these matches in quick succession can be tough but it’s much easier when you’re winning. It is demanding, especially for an outhalf, because an awful lot of my game is mental in terms of thinking tactics throughout the week and implementing them on Saturday.

“We’ve won nothing yet. This is a huge week ahead with Ireland and then you reassess with Munster. That keeps you massively fresh, it’s a nice change and makes for exciting times ahead.”

The one blot to date has been defeat to France, and how O’Gara would love another bout against Bernard Laporte’s side.

“We have two big additions to the backline in Brian O’Driscoll and Geordan Murphy, neither of whom played in Paris. I feel the scoreline was a bit flattering to them. We were going at them at the end but we had conceded two tries from deep inside our half and that’s typical of France. They’re a class side.

“I disagree with those who say we were too conservative, that we were trying to keep the score down. The way France defend, your first and second receiver have to be deep and then you have to try and get the strike outside the third receiver. But if your ball is slow, you’re very limited in what you can do.”

The improvement against Wales set the tone for Twickenham, and the magnificent win against England. Though O’Gara’s memory is scarred by a relatively easy penalty going wide off an upright in the early minutes.

“I had been kicking extremely well out of hand and at goal all week. I missed about three out of 100. Then comes the real thing and you see the bloody thing rattle the wrong side of the post. It could be unsettling but the game moves so quickly, you must make sure your next contribution is positive. I got into the next phase and back in the game. I hit the ball very well for the remaining 78 minutes.”

Nineteen years ago, O’Gara stood in the stands as Ireland won the last won the Triple Crown. “I was eight or so and my dad brought me up in the train so it was a great day out.”

But, ironically, he and his father had left for the station when Michael Kiernan dropped the decisive goal.

“I heard the roar but that was all.”

He will not be so hasty in his departure this time round.