KEY POINTS:
Once costly, now priceless; once flaky, now unflappable; once doubted, now ultra-reliable.
The reinvention of Ronan O'Gara has been one of the more remarkable transformations in world rugby in the past few years. Many expect this metamorphosis to be confirmed with a winning contribution in this Six Nations.
All agree that his kicking is a revelation.
The boy from Cork says: "I have a technique now that, at times, I feel is bulletproof. There is no secret. It's just down to bloody hard work."
Most, if not all, of this hard labour has been done with the Ireland kicking coach, Mark Tainton. The Westcountryman has worked with O'Gara for more than four years and in this time has helped to develop a process that can indeed deflect what used to be mortal wounds.
"Ronan believes in it," Tainton says, "and even if he misses one he will carry on believing in it."
The stats back up this faith. Up until 2005, O'Gara operated at a near 60 per cent success ratio for Ireland. In the past two years he has hiked it up to 80 per cent.
"Like he says, it's because of all the commitment he's put in," says Tainton.
"If, say, he takes 50 kicks at goal and 48 go over, afterwards he wants to go through the video and work out why the two went awry. That's what is so admirable about him - his willingness to learn and always to improve. He's after perfection and that applies to his kicking out of hand as well.
"At the moment, in world terms, I can't see anyone to touch him. Sure, [All Black Dan] Carter is probably on par as a goalkicker, but when it comes to tactical kicking, Ronan is out there on his own. Saying that, he's not just a kicking fly-half, but has worked on everything to ensure he is a real all-rounder."
- INDEPENDENT
