O’Gara hoping to kick on

RONAN O’GARA knows that if he plays “like a robot and an imbecile” in his second British & Irish Lions game tomorrow night his dreams of a Test start next week will be over.

The Munster and Ireland points machine was particularly candid yesterday about his own, and his team’s, opening game performance against the Royal XV, even though he notched a match-winning 22 points and didn’t miss a kick.

Having sat out the next two games, he gets his chance to link-up with Test favourite scrum half Mike Phillips against the Sharks in Durban tomorrow night.

The fact the game is at the venue of the first test the next week will merely add to the pressure on O’Gara to get his game, and his bearings, right.

“I felt like a robot and an imbecile on the pitch during the first game. I underestimated the effects of altitude,” said O’Gara.

“The mind was telling me one thing, but the body wasn’t getting into position to do it. We were sluggish and the boys took it up a fair few notches in the next game.

“By then we’d had eight days at altitude by then and everyone felt fresher. We were disappointed with the way the game went on Saturday and now we have another opportunity to make an impact. If we get it right at forward maybe we can express ourselves a bit more. It is all to play for.”

As well as looking forward to starting for the first time with Phillips at half-back – “his longer pass may help me to play a wider game” – he is also keen to establish strong links with what looks certain to be the centre pairing in the Test series, Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll.

Roberts has been the stand out player on tour to date and is likely to be rested after Wednesday night if all goes well. O’Gara knows all about O’Driscoll, but he wants to see if he can gel with the pair of them.

“The first game I played with Jamie was great. But I had Keith Earls outside him and he was finding his feet a little bit,” said O’Gara.

“Brian has been there and done it all, so he will know instinctively how to play off both Jamie and me. It’s really exciting.”

If things go well, than O’Gara could just slip in ahead of arch-rival Stephen Jones for the No 10 jersey in the Tests. But he knows full well that Jones is also up for the fight.

“I’m competitive and so is Stephen, but we’ve got to get beyond that. I’m 32 and he is 31 and we’re both here to help the Lions win a Test series,” he added.

“I started off the same time as Stephen and I have a huge amount of respect for him. Many European outside halves have fallen away and crumbled over the years, but he is still there at the top and I have a good relationship with him,” he added. Between the two of them, and James Hook, the outside halves have ensured the Lions have been well blessed in the goal-kicking department with only one kick going astray in the three matches to date. O’Gara will be charged with maintaining his own 100% tour record in Durban, but he wants to expand his kicking game in other areas.

“Goal-kicking is very important, but so is kicking for territory, tactically and at the right time. We haven’t shown our hand in those aspects yet,” he said.

“Games one and three didn’t have much shape to them and it is the outside half who is responsible for that. I hope I can change that on Wednesday night. I feel comfortable, I’m enjoying it’ it’s a great camp. In 2005, the atmosphere was wrong. and now I am very proud to represent the best of British & Irish rugby. This is a special and privileged time and we are going to make the most of it.”