O’Gara is the complete No 10

THIS particular group of Argentinian players must be wondering what they have to do to beat Ireland. A year ago in Adelaide, a one-point defeat by the Irish ensured an early exit from the World Cup.

Given that they led Saturday’s Lansdowne Road test until the 79th minute, they have every reason to feel aggrieved.

While Ireland will be thrilled to complete the autumn series with a very creditable three victories, they will be disappointed with aspects of their performance on Saturday. Yet, when it mattered most, they had the composure to win.

Had Argentina won this game, Ireland could have had no complaints. From the outset, the forwards were subjected to an entirely different type of examination to what they faced against South Africa two weeks ago. In times past, Irish teams revelled in the wind and rain.

Those days are gone. This team likes to play with ball in hand. The conditions on Saturday certainly militated against that.

The one thing that hasn’t changed over time is attitude. In the build-up to the South African game, the less than complimentary remarks from coach Jake White ensured Ireland entered the fray with fire in their bellies.

It was clear from the moment the two sides stood for the national anthems that Ireland were less focused. This manifested itself in the early exchanges.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the number of first up tackles that were missed by the home side. I have often commented on how the mindset of a team can be gauged by their hunger in defence. The opening period told the story.

To their credit, Argentina made Ireland pay when sprinting into a ten-point lead after only six minutes.

Argentina, with the aid of a strong breeze and a constant stream of possession should have been further ahead at half time. In the conditions, a ten-point lead was hardly enough.

When the need was greatest and leadership called for, once again Ronan O’Gara stepped forward. When Eddie O’Sullivan conducts his review of the autumn series of games, the thing that will please him most will be the poise and direction that O’Gara now offers from the pivotal out-half position.

This season, despite comparatively few games, O’Gara has emerged as the complete international No 10. If the Lions test side was selected on the basis of the autumn internationals, O’Gara would be a certainty for the No 10 jersey.

While his closest rivals, Stephen Jones of Wales and Charlie Hodgson of England, had their moments; none enjoyed the consistency the Cork man has displayed.

Since last year’s World Cup, O’Gara has enjoyed consistency of selection for all the major internationals. The shadow of David Humphreys no longer blurs his vision. His development has been the product of a lot of hard work and critical analysis. In this respect, Alan Gaffney has played a major role. The one-on-one video analysis they regularly conduct has been crucial.

Away from the public eye, O’Gara spends hours honing his kicking game with specialist coach Mark Tainton. This is also yielding rich dividends. His ability to play the corners with vision and accuracy has driven both Munster and Ireland to greater heights in the last few seasons. With experience, his game appreciation has also improved. He invariably makes the right decision.

His distribution and kicking skills enable him to alter the course of play by varying the patterns from a wide game to playing the tramlines. In the recent Celtic League clash away to Glasgow, he showed sufficient composure to engineer the winning drop goal in injury time.

On Saturday, with the game entering the last minute, he delivered again when the need was greatest. Against South Africa, despite scoring all Irelands points, his contribution to Ireland’s defensive organisation was outstanding. In the early part of his international career, O’Gara was a constant target for the opposition back rows. His defence was suspect. His exposure to Phil Larder on the Lions tour of 2001 opened his mind to the benefits of improving that aspect of his game. Over the past two seasons, under the guidance of Mike Ford, he has become an accomplished defender. Against Burger and Van Niekerk, he enjoyed his finest hour in defence mode.

Once again on Saturday he showed that his place-kicking is of the highest order. A return of five from five, in difficult conditions, was testimony to that.

O’Gara is fast approaching his peak as a professional player. He is at ease with his game and unlike his great rival, Jonny Wilkinson, he knows how and when to switch off.

Despite his quite demeanour, O’Gara is a winner. His attitude now permeates to all those around him.

Ireland can content themselves with a good autumn series. The highlight was undoubtedly the victory over the Springboks. Saturday’s victory, although somewhat fortunate, was also vital, as there are days when you have just got to dog it out.

It helps, however, when O’Gara is on board.