'A bit off': Ronan O'Gara take branded 'unhelpful' by ex-Ireland teammates

Ronan O’Gara has never been shy about calling things as he sees them, and the former Ireland great set off a minor storm before a ball was kicked in Dublin on Saturday.

Writing in his Irish Examiner column, O’Gara delivered a spiky assessment of Ireland’s current options at fly-half, a position he once dominated, questioning whether any of the country’s available 10s are up to the standard expected of a side ranked third in the world.

It was those remarks that shaped some of the discussion on Virgin Media Sports in the build-up to Ireland’s impressive 43–21 win over Scotland, and it did not take long for his former teammates to push back.

O’Gara wrote “what we have at 10 right now is simply not good enough for a nation ranked third in the world. There is a dearth of quality, whoever plays” and “the sobering reality is that the man in possession of the jersey now has a serious body of work to do.”

The remarks landed with a thud, and Shane Horgan was quick to underline the potential impact on Crowley heading into a decisive Six Nations weekend.

“I don’t think it’s particularly helpful, and Jack Crowley won’t be thanking him for those comments going into such a big game,” Horgan said. “But it’s Ronan being honest and I think that’s fair enough as well.”

Horgan did, however, acknowledge the truth in O’Gara’s suggestion that Ireland’s fly-half picture has been turbulent for over a year.

“I don’t think Crowley is the complete 10. I think he acknowledges that he would be incomplete. And I also don’t think that he has been helped by what’s gone on in the 10 position for the last 18 months with Ireland, where Farrell, let’s remember, won a championship with Ireland only a number of years ago.”

From there, the former Ireland wing detailed the ripple effects of Ireland’s experimentation.

“There’s an experiment with Prendergast, who we think has a really high ceiling, but we know his flaws are such that he couldn’t be picked and as a result has missed out on a lot of development time in the 10 jersey. Now this is his period. I think the debate over 10 is put to bed for a while. No matter what happens with this game, Crowley’s in possession. He’s going to play a lot more games for Ireland in the lead-up to the World Cup. He’s going to develop during that time.”

But Horgan echoed O’Gara on one major point: Ireland’s out-halves have work to do in game management areas.

“That’s about control, taking the right options, and he’s got to get his kicking right, because whatever about Rog saying about the complete player, the kicking for both Irish 10s is nowhere near international level at the moment.”

With the gauntlet laid down, Molloy turned to Peter O’Mahony and the ex-Munster skipper did not attempt to sugarcoat his reaction.

“Look, I think they’re a bit off [O’Gara’s comments], if I’m going to be honest with you,” O’Mahony said. “I think Jack is a guy who’s working towards being a really, really good out-half. He’s showed brilliance for Munster and for Ireland. He’s still a relatively young man. You look at when Johnny took over the team properly — Johnny was 26. Sam is very young. Harry’s still a young man, relatively. So they all have time to grow.”

The Corkman emphasised that development, not condemnation, is the reality for most international tens.

“They need time. They need more time in the jersey to experience what you talk about with experience. You need to fail. You need to make mistakes so that when you are 28, 30, 32, and you’re coming into your prime, all that stuff comes with you, and then you become the guy who is dictating.”

He pointed to Scotland’s talisman as the model of gradual evolution. “Finn Russell is a good example of it: the guy who was a little bit rough around the edges, had lots of raw talent, but didn’t have the 50 caps under his belt to say, ‘I’m pulling the strings here, I’m organising.’”

Conor Murray, who has spent years inside Ireland’s playmaking axis, agreed that the scrutiny was legitimate, but insisted circumstance has played a major role.

“It’s an area of growth for any international [game management]. International rugby is really hard, and I think part of the stress for Jack and Sam is the chopping and changing that’s gone on, not sure who is the number one.”

He added that inconsistency of selection can lead to desperate decision-making.

“When the lads get on the field then and Jack comes on for Sam and maybe tries to do a little bit too much, or he gets a start the next week and he’s not sure he’s going to start again, there’s added pressure to show your full hand of what you’re capable of doing.”

For Murray, cohesion is the solution, not additional criticism.

“Game management…it’s very difficult at international rugby. It takes time to understand it and work with your out-half or scrum-half and get used to it. So it’s what the lads are saying: it’s time in the seat now and have a proper run with it.”

Rob Kearney echoed that frustration.

“The disappointing thing about these two guys in particular is that we haven’t seen the best of them over the last 12 or 18 months. We know there’s so much more in both of them as players… what you would love to see when two guys are vying for the one position is both of them pushing each other on… unfortunately, it’s had a bit of an adverse effect.”

Horgan closed the debate with a reminder that pressure from a rival does not always sharpen performance, particularly at No.10.

“Sometimes, and with many players, it’s: if I know I’ve no pressure, I’m comfortable, I’m going to be the position… knowing that if I make a couple of mistakes it’s not the end of the world and I’m not going to be hauled off.”

And he pointed out that even the great Johnny Sexton struggled in O’Gara’s shadow.

“Johnny Sexton said as much in his autobiography. He found those initial years with O’Gara tricky when he didn’t have the security of tenure.”