Former Ireland fly-half Ronan O’Gara has said that he would be open to joining Andy Farrell’s Irish coaching staff next year and that one phone call with the IRFU could change everything.
The IRFU announced on Monday that Ireland assistant Andy Farrell will succeed Joe Schmidt as Ireland head coach after next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan with the New Zealander set to step down from his role with the national team due to a desire to spend more time with his family.
O’Gara, who is currently an assistant coach with the Super Rugby winning Crusaders, said that he’s extremely happy in Christchurch but that he does wish to coach Ireland at some stage of his career.
EXCLUSIVE: Ronan O’Gara on whether or not he’d be interested in being part of Andy Farrell’s Ireland coaching team@sineadkissane @RonanOGara10 @IrishRugby pic.twitter.com/zwTD0QO13t
— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) November 28, 2018
“Of course,” O’Gara told Sinead Kissane of Virgin Media News.
“I would be in contact with a few guys from the IRFU, I played all my rugby here. I’m trying to do the best I can and create my own journey as a coach. It changes very quickly. One phone call can change anything. At the minute I’m in New Zealand, I’m extremely happy, contracted to the Crusaders. I will be for a while. Something like that, it’s your home country, you do [want to do it] at some stage.
“It’s important you get your timing right. An opening doesn’t mean anything, it’s about how you can make it better and whether you can make it better. Who knows, depending on what role is available. You can see that the show here is very strong. Some day, hopefully, it will happen.”
Farrell, who joined the Ireland set-up in 2016 ahead of the summer tour of South Africa, has been credited with being the defensive guru of the Irish coaching staff and he commented that he’s learned a lot from Joe Schmidt during his time with Ireland.
“It is a privilege to be considered for such a prestigious role,” Farrell said. “I have learned a lot from Joe over the past few seasons and I will continue to learn from him over the next year as the coaching group and players focus on competing in two huge tournaments in 2019.”
