O’Connell lauds ton-up O’Gara’s mental strength

RONAN O’GARA yesterday got the seal of approval as “the real deal”, four days in advance of his 100th Heineken Cup appearance at Parc Y Scarlets.

Already the leading points scorer for the tournament, O’Gara joins Munster colleague John Hayes as one of just two tournament centurions, and skipper Paul O’Connell says nobody deserves it more.

O’Gara’s mental strength is infectious, reckons O’Connell.

“You want guys that have that kind of mental toughness in your team, and that’s what he has in abundance.

“It’s brilliant. You want to have as many great players in your team as you can but then you want to have players of O’Gara’s mental strength. When they have a setback they are going to come back stronger and harder than ever.

“That’s why he is such an inspirational guy for the team and probably for everyone watching him. He has a mental resilience about him that is very admirable and inspires everyone else throughout the team.

“You know in a game that if we are on the ropes you have a guy there that can pull it out of the fire for you and that actually wants to be in that position, that wants to have the clutch kick or to produce the play to win a game or a drop goal, as he has done in the past.”