Ronan O’Gara is a retired rugby union player. O’Gara played at fly-half and is Ireland’s second most-capped international player. O’Gara played an astonishing 128 times for Ireland and retired as Ireland’s highest ever points scorer.
O’Gara, an incredibly dedicated and determined man, showed continued loyalty throughout his career, playing for domestic side Munster for his whole career. As an Irish rugby legend, O’Gara remains as the eighth most-capped and fourth highest point scorer in the history of test rugby.
O’Gara made his Munster debut in 1997, he made an instant name for himself scoring 19 points on debut. Throughout his spectacular career for Munster, O’Gara won a number of prestigious titles including two Heineken Cups. The Heineken Cup was where O’Gara particularly excelled as a top athlete and performer, he currently holds the record for most appearances and points scored in the history of the Heineken Cup.
The first cup success came in a victory against Biarritz in 2006, O’Gara stamped his authority on the game kicking an incredible 13 points. Munster only had to wait until 2008 to enjoy their next Heineken Cup success; they beat Toulouse 16-13 in the final with O’Gara scoring 11 vital points.
He made his international debut for Ireland in a Six Nations match against Scotland in 2000. O’Gara eventually played in numerous Six Nations and World Cups for his country. He was named the captain of the squad in 2008 and then just one year later surpassed Jonny Wilkinson to become the top Six Nations point scorer ever.
In 2011, O’Gara became the first Irishman to score over 1,000 points in international games. He would eventually go on to score 1,083 points for Ireland which, to this day, still hasn’t been passed by anybody. It wasn’t until 2012 that O’Gara became Ireland’s most capped player of all-time, he reached this sensational feat in a match against Italy.
O’Gara announced his retirement from rugby union in 2013, during his career, he built a legacy for Irish rugby and will go down as arguably Ireland’s greatest ever rugby union player. Since retiring, O’Gara has taken on coaching roles and is currently the head coach at French club La Rochelle.
O’Gara is available to hire as a rugby speaker and is guaranteed to light up your event with his humour and personality. He often discusses his remarkable career but also touches on teamwork, determination and being under the spotlight.
