O'Gara passes the buck

[Bullitt]

http://www.planetrugby.com/lions-09/story/...5482795,00.html

Ronan O'Gara might have good reason to be grateful to Schalk Burger, Bakkies Botha and Peter de Villiers, for their madness outweighed his.

 

[Bullitt]

50/50 call, my arse. Tosser.

 

[Sir Speedy]

"it never entered my head to kick the ball out. I couldn't see what a draw would do for anyone."

How selfless of him.

 

[shazbooger]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Aug 17 2009, 04:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

How selfless of him.[/b]

Love him or loath him, thats what he does. He's his number one fan.

Dont agree with a word he said there myself apart from the missed tackle piece.

 

[shtove]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Aug 18 2009, 03:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

"it never entered my head to kick the ball out. I couldn't see what a draw would do for anyone."

How selfless of him.[/b]

I agree with him. At the time he was looking for support runners to move it out of the 22. They were too chicken to take it on, and he still tried to keep the game alive. I think that was a good choice - a draw meant they couldn't win the series - but the challenge was stupid and definitely NOT 50/50.

But not as stupid as selecting Vickers. Now everyone thinks ROG is the villain, whereas Vickers "redeemed" himself in the dead rubber.

Lions should have won the series. ROG wanted them to win the series. It wasn't because of him they failed.

 

[Sir Speedy]

No, it was because of him we conceded 10 points in the final five minutes. Definitely not his fault we lost that second test.

Does not matter though. If we'd won that test, with the injuries we'd sustained the third test would never have been won. The series was lost due to our injuries at 46 minutes.

 

[dullonien]

I don't think it's right to blame a series loss solely on O'Gara, but he's done nothing to help himself in this interview. If he cannot concede he made a mistake, then he doesn't deserve to be playing international rugby. It's all well and good to go for the win, but when you're in your own 22 with little to no support, half the team off injured and having been knocked out minutes earlier, surely you've gotta settle for a draw? Going for the up and under in the first place was daft, being an idiot and taking the guy out in the air was mindless.

I also don't appreciate him declaring himself the form 10 running up to the first test. He obviously wasn't seeing it like everybody else watching, as in my eyes he was also behind Hook (if fit). I've voiced my criticisms of O'Gara before, so I won't go through them all again, but when there are choices like Stephen Jones or an in form Hook, O'Gara then just becomes a liability with his tackling.

He's just come across as a whining brat, trying to justify his stupid decisions that unfortunately did cost the Lions a test (not the series).

 

[durbutter]

He does make it very hard for anybody to like or support him these days. Before he could be forgiven all his annoying character traits, because he always gave excellent performances (well for Munster anyway). But he hasn't played to the standard people expect from him for quite a while now.

 

[best_fullback]

O'Gara should have either kept his mouth shut or, like dullonien said, concede that he made a mistake. It was a stupid challenge. Everyone in the rugby world knew as soon as it happened that it was a penalty so for him to say that you see them given and not given, when his was so blatant, is stupid. He is a human though and mistakes are part of our nature. He should have just held his hand up, said sorry, and taken the critisism on the chin like a man; Not come out with this 50/50 ****. When has O'Gara ever been the form fly-half? He is lightweight, f**king rubbish at tackling and average kicking out of hand. Yeah, so he can goal kick, but hes not that good and I would prefer a better passing 10 than a kicker. He is not nearly as good going forward as Jones.

On the other hand I don't agree that going for the draw was a viable option. Maybe in a league game for Munster yes, but this is a Lions test. Do you seriously think if he booted the ball into the crowd for the whistle and started jogging to the changing rooms any of the fans, public, other players or coaching staff would be happy with a draw? Not a chance in hell.

This only comes round every 4 years and he has the opportunity to attack back and possibly create a scoring opportunity to win the test. SA have looked very beatable all test and we have been on top so why not attack? Don't necessarily think the bomb was the right idea though as there were very few supporting players. High risk it was and the likely outcome was SA would come back up with the ball, or worse, he could concede the penalty. Which he did.

 

[durbutter]

Ah now, on his day he is class kicking out of hand, f***in class.

But alas he is a complete cock.

 

[O'Rothlain]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shtove @ Aug 17 2009, 01:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Aug 18 2009, 03:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"it never entered my head to kick the ball out. I couldn't see what a draw would do for anyone."

How selfless of him.[/b]

I agree with him. At the time he was looking for support runners to move it out of the 22. They were too chicken to take it on, and he still tried to keep the game alive. I think that was a good choice - a draw meant they couldn't win the series - but the challenge was stupid and definitely NOT 50/50.

But not as stupid as selecting Vickers. Now everyone thinks ROG is the villain, whereas Vickers "redeemed" himself in the dead rubber.

Lions should have won the series. ROG wanted them to win the series. It wasn't because of him they failed.
[/b][/quote]
I agree with Shtove here. I'm not saying that ROG can't be a "cock" as you've all said, but, I think he was trying to make something happened...albeit, trying to make something happen while probably a bit concused from the tackle debacle.

 

[alexrugby]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teh Mite @ Aug 17 2009, 06:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Ronan O'Gara might have good reason to be grateful to Schalk Burger, Bakkies Botha and Peter de Villiers, for their madness outweighed his.[/b]

hahahaaaaaaaaaaaa

that's because he did not start shouting about the Burger's madnesss

 

[Bullitt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (O'Rothlain @ Aug 17 2009, 10:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shtove @ Aug 17 2009, 01:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Aug 18 2009, 03:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"it never entered my head to kick the ball out. I couldn't see what a draw would do for anyone."

How selfless of him.[/b]

I agree with him. At the time he was looking for support runners to move it out of the 22. They were too chicken to take it on, and he still tried to keep the game alive. I think that was a good choice - a draw meant they couldn't win the series - but the challenge was stupid and definitely NOT 50/50.

But not as stupid as selecting Vickers. Now everyone thinks ROG is the villain, whereas Vickers "redeemed" himself in the dead rubber.

Lions should have won the series. ROG wanted them to win the series. It wasn't because of him they failed.
[/b][/quote]
I agree with Shtove here. I'm not saying that ROG can't be a "cock" as you've all said, but, I think he was trying to make something happened...albeit, trying to make something happen while probably a bit concused from the tackle debacle.
[/b][/quote]

He's certainly polarised opinions; There are those of us who think he's a complete cock that binned the Lions tour with his inept bumblings, then there are 80,000,000 (who were there in '78) that think he's an innocent scapegoat and should be lavished with forgiveness and praise...

 

[O'Rothlain]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teh Mite @ Aug 17 2009, 04:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (O'Rothlain @ Aug 17 2009, 10:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shtove @ Aug 17 2009, 01:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Aug 18 2009, 03:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"it never entered my head to kick the ball out. I couldn't see what a draw would do for anyone."

How selfless of him.[/b]

I agree with him. At the time he was looking for support runners to move it out of the 22. They were too chicken to take it on, and he still tried to keep the game alive. I think that was a good choice - a draw meant they couldn't win the series - but the challenge was stupid and definitely NOT 50/50.

But not as stupid as selecting Vickers. Now everyone thinks ROG is the villain, whereas Vickers "redeemed" himself in the dead rubber.

Lions should have won the series. ROG wanted them to win the series. It wasn't because of him they failed.
[/b][/quote]
I agree with Shtove here. I'm not saying that ROG can't be a "cock" as you've all said, but, I think he was trying to make something happened...albeit, trying to make something happen while probably a bit concused from the tackle debacle.
[/b][/quote]

He's certainly polarised opinions; There are those of us who think he's a complete cock that binned the Lions tour with his inept bumblings, then there are 80,000,000 (who were there in '78) that think he's an innocent scapegoat and should be lavished with forgiveness and praise...
[/b][/quote]

I don't think he deserves praise, just not the cross. How many of us that play this sport have been put in a decision making situation. Most of the time it's 50/50. All I'm saying is he took a chance. It obviously didn't work out. We can argue back and forth about whether or not it was a boneheaded decision, but at the end of the day, it was either a tie or a loss. I guess he chose to go down swinging.

 

[alexrugby]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teh Mite @ Aug 18 2009, 02:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

He's certainly polarised opinions; There are those of us who think he's a complete cock that binned the Lions tour with his inept bumblings, then there are 80,000,000 (who were there in '78) that think he's an innocent scapegoat and should be lavished with forgiveness and praise...[/b]

No

I think he is just a good player who was called for Lions and he did some things some people dislike while some people like

He is star among others and continues to play on his own

He is called for play in new Ireland team and he will make way to main squad this season also

He is f**in' famous and this is the reason so much is told around him

 

[shazbooger]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teh Mite @ Aug 17 2009, 11:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

He's certainly polarised opinions; There are those of us who think he's a complete cock that binned the Lions tour with his inept bumblings, then there are 80,000,000 (who were there in '78) that think he's an innocent scapegoat and should be lavished with forgiveness and praise...[/b]

Why is it whenever O'Gara comes into a discussion you throw away any level of reason? I'm not an O'Gara fan but its still annoying and it goes way beyond a wind-up. No wonder Tarbh f***ed off.

O'Gara is a bit of a gobshite alright and pretty much everyone outside of Munster would agree with you there. He definately f***ed up with the tackle in the air, but not with the kick. A kick to touch would have been pointless.

Blaming a test defeat on one player while conveniently ignoring the other factors in the game makes the arguement pointless.

O'Gara doesnt deserve any credit for the series, and certainly doesnt deserve any sympathy for not starting (if you cant tackle you shouldnt be there), but he didnt lose the series for the Lions.

 

[Bullitt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Logorrhea @ Aug 18 2009, 12:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

He definately f***ed up with the tackle in the air, but not with the kick. A kick to touch would have been pointless.

Blaming a test defeat on one player while conveniently ignoring the other factors in the game makes the arguement pointless.

O'Gara doesnt deserve any credit for the series, and certainly doesnt deserve any sympathy for not starting (if you cant tackle you shouldnt be there), but he didnt lose the series for the Lions.[/b]

Had it been Stephen Jones, Jonny Wilkinson, Danny Cipriani, or Chris Patterson* that had gone for the ridiculous garyowen, I am certain every Irish-sympathiser would be singing a very different song about the whole incident. He's getting all this forgiveness because the Irish are just so damn lovable, aren't they... Think of it this way; In the Ashes, England salvaged a draw in the 1st test. If the tail enders were dumb enough to swing the for sixes and get themselves bowled out, that wouldn't have happened and Australia would have started with a 1-0 lead. As it was still 0-0, England went on saving a difficult score to overcome... A smart move. Conversely, a halved Lions series (which could have easily become an aggregate win), is a better thing to have then a failed Lions series. But as O'choke is one of those pluck, lovable Irishmen, it's easily forgivable that he tried the impossible and went to steal all the glory to himself. Any other player, you lot would be straight down their throats.

That said, I can imagine the others would be dumb enough to kick a bomb away on the last play straight into the middle of the largest standing group of opposition players, (even Cipriani).*


*I deliberately didn't mention Dan Parks.

 

[monkeypigeon]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teh Mite @ Aug 18 2009, 01:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Logorrhea @ Aug 18 2009, 12:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He definately f***ed up with the tackle in the air, but not with the kick. A kick to touch would have been pointless.

Blaming a test defeat on one player while conveniently ignoring the other factors in the game makes the arguement pointless.

O'Gara doesnt deserve any credit for the series, and certainly doesnt deserve any sympathy for not starting (if you cant tackle you shouldnt be there), but he didnt lose the series for the Lions.[/b]

Had it been Stephen Jones, Jonny Wilkinson, Danny Cipriani, or Chris Patterson* that had gone for the ridiculous garyowen, I am certain every Irish-sympathiser would be singing a very different song about the whole incident.

That said, I can imagine the others would be dumb enough to kick a bomb away on the last play straight into the middle of the largest standing group of opposition players, (even Cipriani).*


*I deliberately didn't mention Dan Parks.
[/b][/quote]

Firstly I'm in the 'what a retarded thing to do' camp. Why in god's name would you wtick up a garryowen when you know the team that's catching it has 2 amazing distance dropgoalers on the team. Bad enough a plan oin it's own it's coming from a player who can't tackle and is too much of a pussy to ever jump for a high ball.

But please note Teh Mite that there's Irish people in here that are not defending him and doing quite the opposite and there's been Welsh and English peeps here saying that they agree with his 'there's no point in drawing the match' point.

And all of them woiuld have the same oppinion regardless of whether it was Wilkinson, Patterson or Jones.

and by the way, everyone please take note, pretty much everyone in Munster knows that O'Gara is a complete cock. Especially those who've ever met him or experienced him first hand. We've all known he's a cock longer than everyone else.

 

[shtove]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Monkeypigeon @ Aug 19 2009, 12:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Firstly I'm in the 'what a retarded thing to do' camp. Why in god's name would you wtick up a garryowen when you know the team that's catching it has 2 amazing distance dropgoalers on the team. Bad enough a plan oin it's own it's coming from a player who can't tackle and is too much of a pussy to ever jump for a high ball.[/b]

So he should have gone for touch? Taken a tackle to set up a ruck?

 

[Bullitt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shtove @ Aug 18 2009, 06:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Monkeypigeon @ Aug 19 2009, 12:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Firstly I'm in the 'what a retarded thing to do' camp. Why in god's name would you wtick up a garryowen when you know the team that's catching it has 2 amazing distance dropgoalers on the team. Bad enough a plan oin it's own it's coming from a player who can't tackle and is too much of a pussy to ever jump for a high ball.[/b]

So he should have gone for touch? Taken a tackle to set up a ruck?
[/b][/quote]

Give that man a coconut.