Ronan O'Gara: The best player in Lions series won't be in red

Irish Examiner

24-06-2025

Ronan O'Gara has no doubt about how seriously the Wallabies are taking this summer's Test series against the Lions. The La Rochelle head coach's certainty stems from negotiations with Australian players ahead of the new season. An extra summer month in France sounds appealing but there's a greater draw in Oz.
'The easiest way to explain it basically is, if you're trying to recruit players, none of the Australians are interested in coming before the end of August,' O'Gara explained.
'Why is that? Because of the Lions Test series. It comes across once in their career, once every 12 years.'
Will Skelton was 21, and still a year away from making his Wallabies debut, when the Lions last toured Australia. O'Gara accepts that he may be biased but he believes that of all the players involved in the upcoming series, the 6' 8" lock's impact towers above the rest.
'The biggest star or essentially the best rugby player is in green and gold,' said O'Gara, who has coached Skelton at La Rochelle since 2020.
'I don't think he's in red. Will Skelton, I don't think any team in the world has a second row like that because he's a phenomenal player but he's an even better person.
'Since last May, he's been targeting this series to show the world… The world's eyes will be on this series and this is something Will has targeted, and when Will targets something, he usually doesn't disappoint. When he's in the second row, it's a massive weapon for Australian rugby.'
O'Gara, a three-time tourist with the Lions, will be part of the Sky Sports punditry team for the tour. He views it not simply as a job he enjoys but also an opportunity for personal growth. Some attend webinars for their continuing personal development. O'Gara's CPD will happen on live television.
'Are you a better coach from having listened to the opinions of other people that you're working with, with the amount of footage that you're watching, and with potentially a suggestion someone might say? You're growing your mind and you're getting better.
'I think my role isn't to slate people, never would that come into my head because I don't have to do that thankfully. Some people are given the role of bad cop to do these kind of jobs.'
O'Gara believes Friday's defeat to Argentina changes the first two weeks of the tour Down Under. The Lions would have been expecting to travel with the momentum of victory and a rousing send-off from the Dublin crowd. Instead, they've got to jump start it all against Western Force on Saturday.
'I think in camp it's a lot easier to deal with than maybe on the outside because sometimes perception isn't reality,' said O'Gara, 'because in camp they want to win a Test series and the Test series is a long, long way away.
'Everyone - me included - was particularly impressed with how Argentina attacked off turnover ball and they cut teams apart and you can see the difference between having, shall we say, an out-and-out established '15' and a Marcus Smith candidate and the fact that if you're a little bit off with your timing or your placement it transpires into, on one or two occasions, tries at Test level.'
That Lions camp includes Johnny Sexton. Being part of the Lions coaching ticket is the pinnacle of their career for many. Sexton has reached that apex just two years on from retirement, and far less into his coaching journey.
'He's a master brain, that's for certain,' said O'Gara.
'Spending time with him, you understand, he sees the game really easily. There was obviously a hullabaloo when he was named in the coaching squad because people were saying he skipped all those courses to get where he is. Rugby is becoming very much like soccer where it becomes a management team.
'When you understand and you trust people you work with, like Andy Farrell with Simon Easterby, Goody (Andrew Goodman), Paulie (Paul O'Connell), Fogs (John Fogarty)... when his number 10 (for Ireland) was Johnny Sexton, it's very normal and a no-brainer for him to come on board.
'It's about relationships and it's about connecting with people more so than a strategy point of view, especially in such a short window. I would be like Andy Farrell in that regard too: I'm not too worried about the title, I just want to get people into the environment and if they're good with people, then it should shine.'
O'Gara's knowledge of the Australian game has its foundations in the 18 months he spent coaching New Zealand side Crusaders in Super Rugby. It gave him an appreciation for the level of athlete which Australia produces.
'They have a huge sporting tradition, and it would be very foolish to fall into the camp of 'they're eighth-ranked in the world'," he said.
"They'll have a huge surge. Whether it's good enough to beat an on-form Lions team, you can easily question that, but they have a master coach (Joe Schmidt) in terms of organising them, putting structure on them, and giving them direction.
'And a lot of them are very, very natural footballers, so when you combine that with their athleticism, I think they become very dangerous. I think what you wouldn't want to underestimate is Australia, whether it's (Aussie) rules, (rugby) league, soccer, golfers, they are phenomenal athletes.
'You look at Jospeh Sua'ali'i in midfield, his range of skills are fascinating. A lot of them are athletes and then rugby players. You think of Pete Samu in Bordeaux who I coached in the Crusaders. They're very, very dangerous when they get the rugby combined with their athleticism. They will pose problems, a lot more problems than people think.'
Watch every game of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, including all three Test matches against the Wallabies, exclusively live on Sky Sports and NOW.