Ronan O’Gara’s brutal verdict on English rugby as he reveals Ireland’s ‘massive advantage’
Former Ireland fly-half and current La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara.
Ireland legend Ronan O’Gara believes that Andy Farrell’s men have a “massive advantage” over England heading into Saturday’s clash.
Farrell’s charges are heavy favourites for the match having dominated their opening three games, ending with wins of 38-17, 36-0 and 31-7 against France, Italy and Wales respectively.
Versus a Red Rose side that lost to Scotland and were unconvincing victors over the Welsh and Italians, some predict that Ireland could inflict similar pain on Steve Borthwick’s team.
Two games from history
The Irishmen are just two games away from claiming back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams and O’Gara would be surprised if an upset occurred at Twickenham.
Asked whether England could cause chaos in the Ireland ranks, O’Gara responded: “I don’t see it.”
The ex-fly-half then delved deeper into England’s issues and delivered a scathing assessment of where their domestic game is currently at.
“The big difference between when Brian (O’Driscoll) and myself played and now was that the English clubs were unbelievably strong,” he told Off The Ball.
“The level in English rugby has gone very, very, very low. Saracens aren’t nearly extinct but they’re dying in front of us.
“For these players to excel in the Test arena, I think they need to perform for their clubs and that’s where Ireland have a massive advantage.
“Leinster are like an Ireland B team and then Munster have got competitive, as have Connacht. Ulster are not where they want to be but they’re still competitive.
“There’s such ingrained competitiveness in the system in Ireland that translates to the national team.
“From England’s point of view, there’s a renaissance with Northampton but with other teams, it’s not at the standard they want it to be and the league is nowhere near as competitive as it was 10 years ago.”
England’s threat
The Ireland legend provided a caveat by admitting that the international game is very different and that countries can still put out talented 23-man squads.
La Rochelle’s head coach listed some of the players that could cause Farrell’s team problems, but then questioned why England haven’t played to those strengths.
O’Gara referenced Manu Tuilagi’s capabilities but Ollie Lawrence, who starts instead of the experienced centre, also attracts defenders through his physicality in contact.
“When it comes to Test rugby, it’s a very different animal and if you’ve got good players, it can happen and it can happen quickly,” O’Gara added.
“When you look at the 9s, 10s and Tuilagi available, there’s a capacity to play a power gamer and use him as a decoy and play a game to width, but we don’t see that.
“I certainly don’t see it anyway in terms of how they play the game.”
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