Unguarded

by Ronan O'Gara

Overview

Ronan O'Gara has been at the heart of Munster and Irish rugby for the past fifteen years. Now, as he comes to the end of a glittering playing career, it is time for him to reflect on those many successes and occasional failures with the straight talking attitude that has become his trademark. Never one to shy away from the truth, the result is Ronan O'Gara: Unguarded. Packed full of anecdotes and analysis of the teammates O'Gara has been proud to share the shirt with, and of the coaches he has played under—often in controversial circumstances—this is the definitive record of an era when Munster rose to triumph in Europe, and Ireland to win the Grand Slam, before crashing down to earth again. It is simply the must-have rugby book of the year.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848271807
Publisher:	Transworld Publishers Limited
Publication date:	12/01/2014
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ronan O'Gara was educated at Presentation Brothers College and University College Cork, captaining Pres to the Munster Junior and Senior Schools Cup and winning an All-Ireland Under-20 winners' medal with UCC in 1996. For over a decade he played fly half for Munster and Ireland, and was a member of the British & Irish Lions touring teams in 2001, 2005 and 2009. He is the all-time highest scorer for both Munster and Ireland, and also holds the Heineken Cup record for points. O'Gara announced his playing retirement on May 18, 2013, and will join Paris-based Racing Metro as Assistant Coach for the 2013-2014 season. Gerry Thornley has been the rugby correspondent of the Irish Times since 1997 and is a regular contributor and rugby analyst on both television and radio. His previous book Trevor Brennan: Heart and Soul was the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year 2007.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

1 The Final Road 5

2 The Magnificent Obsession 29

3 The Balance of Power 48

4 Centurion 67

5 The Sub Game 82

6 So Near Yet So Far 95

7 Attention to Detail 113

8 The Perfect 10 128

9 Nothing is Impossible 153

10 Modern Rugby 171

11 The Home Team 189

12 The Final Curtain 203

13 Moving On 221

14 A Coach in Paris 238

15 A New Season 247

Career Highlights 265

Acknowledgements 267

Picture Acknowledgements 269

Index 271