Former Ireland flyhalf Ronan O’Gara shares how Ireland can overcome South Africa’s famous rush defense. Andy Farrell’s Ireland will face the Springboks in a crucial match in Pool B at the Stade de France in Paris this weekend. The winners are likely to avoid playing against France in the quarter-finals.
The La Rochelle head coach talked to Jim Hamilton on RugbyPass, and they discussed O’Gara’s time with the French European champions and analyzed the exciting match in Saint-Denis.
O’Gara, who has played a unique role in defeating Leinster in recent seasons, shared his ideas on how Ireland, comprising Leinster players, can beat the Springboks this weekend. He believes when they begin to look for ways to counter the Springboks’ aggressive defense, it will be crucial.
“To defeat a rushing defense, you need to go straight through it. Many people attempt to go around it, which I believe is a misunderstanding of what you should be aiming for,” explained O’Gara.
“For me, the key to countering rush defenses is that you have to attack by swinging your arms around, which is a skill in itself because if you hit the body, you get tackled behind the gain line, and you get possession of the ball.
The speed may be 4 out of 5 seconds, but if you can find an opportunity for slow footwork to use your arms on the line, you can get a high that would mean a red or yellow card in the average situation today. The shot ability is there.
“Footwork and defending on the line, short passes… if you try to make long passes or long passes, they (South Africa) will salt you.” I think that is the main thing they are looking for.
“What you have to do is close the distance between the 9 and 10 or the first receiver. Please reduce the space. That is, for the number 9 and his 10, he may only need three defenders, and from the 10 to the next attacker, he may only need three defenders.
We will probably have eight guys on the line, but you have to know that if you can get accuracy on the second pass, you have a chance. Let’s say 9 to 10. Let us say 10 to Bundy Aki or [Garry] Ringrose. It happens when their shooters chase him, but he might have the ability to tip [pass].
I am Biased, But if You Assume that 1 to 10 People Win the World Cup, that Shows How Good Paul O’Connell is
“Who is here (points behind the imaginary second receiver)? There was James Lowe and Hansen…they are gone. We tried to break through them here, so we probably ended up taking out seven defenders. That’s my theory.
“I am biased, but if you assume that 1 to 10 people win the World Cup, that shows how good Paul O’Connell is. I am absolutely convinced that ” We do not need a 15-a-side game, we need 1 to 10 players, everything else is a bonus, but what Ireland is doing very well at the moment is, for example, Kelleher here, Porter here, Farr here.
That is where Long is: all threats, all able to pass the ball. James Ryan, McCarthy, Henderson, O’Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris.
If they were wearing an all-black jersey, we would be paying attention to them, so their abilities are rarely recognized, but I do not think they get the recognition they deserve.
“Ireland has many players who make smart decisions on the field, not just the number ten and twelve. When they play, they usually do not score tries in the corner but progress through the field methodically, which is quite impressive to see,” said O’Gara.
