O'Gara blast for over-hyped, over-rated English
He also stated that the Irish provinces and the national team no longer suffer from an inferiority complex when travelling to England adding, “we expect to win there now”.
O’Gara’s comments will certainly stoke things up ahead of Munster’s opening Heineken Cup clash with two-time European champions Leicester Tigers at Welford Road on Sunday.
The Munster man’s brutally honest assessment of English players and the hype that surrounds the Guinness Premiership, came in an interview with The Guardian yesterday.
“All the old clichés about us being gallant losers or the plucky Irish is absolute nonsense,” said the Ireland out-half.
“I honestly think that, both for Munster and Ireland, we’ve got more talented players than the English in many positions. Maybe that will surprise a few people in England — but our Celtic League is looked down upon because it isn't covered by Sky Sports.
“I watch some Premiership rugby and I have to switch off the sound because I wonder if I'm seeing the same game. Their commentators are enthusing about the quality and excitement and I'm just like, ‘Oh my God!’”
O’Gara also revealed that average English players are made look better by the hype that attaches itself to Sky Sports coverage.
“At the minute, I don’t know many of the English players on a friendly basis and I’d say a few think they’re better than they actually are in reality.
“Sky do an incredible job in dramatising the whole of English rugby, but the way they hype these English guys is unbelievable. I’ve toured with some of the players they’re now saying are the best in England — and it just doesn't make sense. We all talk about the English players, so this is the general opinion in Irish dressingrooms. Some of the people they are trying to put on a pedestal just don’t deserve to be there.”
O’Gara also shoots holes at the familiar English whine that their players suffer most in European and international rugby because they’re depleted by the sheer physicality of the Premiership.
“It’s a convenient excuse, isn’t it? They like to think Munster are taking it easy in-between European matches. It's a lot of rubbish. Each week we’re playing strong and physical teams.”
The Munster out-half gave an insight into the secrets of the Munster and Ireland dressing rooms and says they hold no fears when going to play an English club side or their national team. Ireland have beaten England on their last three Six Nations clashes, two of which took place in Twickenham.
“We no longer suffer from being beaten before we even travel to England or France any more. That's the level we're at in Munster.
We expect to win when we go over there. It's the same with Ireland. I've played against England six times and won four of those matches. That’s not surprising to me because, between the walls of our dressingroom, we always expect to beat England. But the English public and their team have a hard time believing that. They still assume they should come out on top every time because, apparently, the natural order in rugby is that England are the greatest. It's probably down to the way they've been brought up.”
O’Gara also has ambitions to become the number one fly half in the northern hemisphere, vying for that distinction alongside Sale’s Charlie Hodgson, a player he admitted he did not get to know during the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand.
“My goal now is to become the dominant force at 10 in Europe, and if you look around it's obviously up for grabs. Stephen Jones [of Wales] is one outside-half I'd say is a very good player, but aside from that...”
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