O’Gara: We need supporters now more than ever

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Ronan O’Gara has made an emotional plea to Irish rugby supporters to fill the Aviva for the remainder of the Guinness 2010 Autumn schedule.

The IRFU’s pricing policy has come in for heavy criticism and, in light of the current economic climate, O’Gara empathises with the predicament that supporters are facing.

“It’s strange. The whole economic situation has everyone really badly affected more so than people appreciate. I think we’re seeing that and it’s only going to get worse,” he said.

“I don’t know how many thousand were there today, but there were empty seats all over the stadium and it’s probably a sign of things to come and next week (against Samoa). . . I don’t how many thousand will be here."

O’Gara accepts that times are tough, but has pleaded with fans to show their support in the coming weeks as Ireland look to kick-start their season after a difficult summer tour and last Saturday’s disappoint defeat to South Africa.

“That’s reality; it’s probably something that everyone has to look at in terms of getting the pricing right, but we need the supporters… that’s why Ireland have been so good for so long.

"In the old Lansdowne Road, it was an unbelievable atmosphere, it was so passionate and so driven and we have to get those days back because sports people from a technical point of view and skill point of view is one thing - but emotionally that’s always been Ireland’s greatest tool: their fans and supporters,” he said.

“They’ve been so good to this team and we need them back. We need them more than ever really. They’ve been really good to me and really good to this team and we’ll miss them.”