O’Gara: we’ve got to bring out our quality

IN American Football terms it’s the blitz, in basketball it’s the press; it’s not so much defence as all-out attack — attack the ball-carrier with total aggression, with absolute intent to strip, to rob, to turn over, attack the ball with intent to intercept, to slow down. But always, attack, attack, attack, force the error.

In club rugby, Wasps are past masters of this type of defence in the northern hemisphere and that game has seen them rise to the top in England and Europe in recent years, a force to be reckoned with. This Saturday they bring that game to Thomond Park, final match in a Heineken Cup pool that is still balanced on a knife-edge.

Having seen them up close on a couple of occasions, Munster coach Declan Kidney knows that to expect. “They don’t give you space, they close things down very quickly. If you’re any way loose with the ball they win a huge number of turnovers; they’re very physical up front, in all the forward exchanges, they don’t let you settle on the ball for any length of time.

“The way they defend, they close off the outside very quickly — some teams defend from the inside out which allows you the outside, but they squeeze from the outside in, which makes things very tight. It’s one thing to stand back and say, ‘See, there’s huge space over here,’ but it’s different when you’re in the middle of it, when you have those guys bearing down on you.”

It will take someone special then, to unlock that defence; in Ronan O’Gara, Kidney has just such a man. Long recognised for his kicking prowess, both tactical and point-scoring, it took a long time for most pundits (those across the pond especially) to recognise that the Munster and Ireland out-half is also a supreme passer of the ball, off left and right side.

Mentally, however, is where O’Gara really scores; this guy is tough, really tough. Nothing shakes him, nothing even stirs him; his self-confidence is unbreakable, but so his confidence in this team. Most recent example of both: last week’s high-tempo game against Clermont, in Clermont, a stray Clermont boot results in O’Gara suffering a gaping wound to his ear and head that required over 20 stitches to close; not alone did he not leave the field, but playing on with a bandage wrapped around his head he finished an impeccable five from five in kicks at goal; far more impressively, however, and a measure of his belief in this team, he engineered a magnificent fightback after Munster had fallen a daunting 17 points behind at the start of the second half, creating attack after attack with razor-sharp passing, instant decision-making, inviting his team-mates to run, run, run, keep the ball in hand and attack.

How that confidence was justified, how that confidence was rewarded, as Munster went on to outplay the French at what was always their own game, the three Kiwi backs — Mafi, Tipoki and Howlett — all sparkling.

“People are always on about Munster,” said O’Gara, “That we want it wet and windy, but last week we played ball and that’s exactly what we want to do every weekend.”

So well did they play in that second half that not alone did they manage to bring themselves back into the match, as injury-time approached they even looked likely winners. They lost, but did end up with an invaluable bonus-point for keeping the margin of defeat to less than eight points, a point that sees them very much in control of their own fate this Saturday (a win by more than one point will do, while scoring at least as many tries as Wasps); what if they had had a good hard warm-up game the week before, however, what if the Magner’s League match in Ravenhill against Ulster hadn’t been snowed off? Moot point, reckons Rog: “It probably would have been important to us but the intensity of the Clermont game — you wouldn’t get that in a pitch covered in snow. The conditions last week really challenged us, aerobically and anaerobically, but I think we finished the game strongly and that’s a positive; we have to make sure now on Saturday that we start against Wasps where we finished against Clermont. We must learn from the mistakes of last weekend — if we rid ourselves of those we’ll be alright.”

Defence apart, they’re a major challenge in every element of the game, this Wasps team.

While they are noted for their aggressive defence, they also have a mean attacking game, all orchestrated by an outstanding out-half of their own, the precocious Danny Cipriani, a guy who grew up admiring the talents of O’Gara. Given Cipriani’s rapid advance in the last season, however, it’s an admiration very much mutual at this stage. “I think he’s an exceptional talent, far more advanced than I was at his age. He’s had expert coaching, a great athlete — players like that excite people. He’s very confident, that’s a key attribute for an out-half — a very, very fine player.”

Looking forward to the head-to-head then? No, he says. “I won’t be thinking about any Wasps player between now and Saturday; we’ll be doing a bit of video analysis but my focus will be on myself and the Munster team. If we can get ourselves right that’s the most important thing; the quality is inside those red jerseys, we’ve got to make sure we bring that out. That’s the most important thing, that we back ourselves; we didn’t play well last week but we backed ourselves and gave ourselves a chance to qualify from the group.

“Playing for each other can really carry you, in life and in sport; that’s what we have at the moment, and hopefully we show that again this weekend.”