Irish coach Declan Kidney is under pressure to start Ronan O’Gara
Ireland coach Declan Kidney is under pressure to name out-half Ronan O’Gara in the first team ahead of their Test match with Samoa on Saturday 13 November.
O’Gara came on as a substitute to earn his 100th cap and he almost inspired the team to a remarkable come-back against the Springboks on Saturday 6 November.
As it turned out, Ireland lost 21-23 against South Africa with the out-half creating two tries and hitting the post with a difficult kick to almost grab an undeserved draw for the Irish.
“I feel like I have a lot to contribute, but if there's fierce competition for my place that's the way it has to be. I just have to make an impact whenever I can. I'm enjoying my rugby and have been in good form this year. I want to keep it going,” said
O’Gara at a press conference.
The Irish out-half hailed Peter Stringer’s contribution. Stringer was also introduced as a second-half substitute at the expense of Eoin Reddan.
"Tempo is what you're going to get with Peter. He's an underestimated, under-appreciated player and maybe his experience was needed," added O’Gara.
The British and Irish Lion admitted that there was pressure on all the players in the squad to produce their best form, but the Munster out-half stated that the players must also work together.
"There are places up for grabs and people are going to react differently to that. If the team plays well as individuals, that won't be any good. We must regroup,” said O’Gara.
O’Gara is expected to start with Stringer for the Test against Samoa after Jonathan Sexton and Reddan failed to make an impact against the Springboks.
The Munster player will hope that he can get his first start of the Autumn Internationals and produce the same type of display against a physical Samoan team.
"Samoa will be strong, they won't be like Fiji or the Pacific Islands. We'll have to have a good attitude and see where that gets us,” added the out-half.
Tags: