WORLD RUGBY HALL OF FAME – INDUCTEE NO.139 – RONAN O'GARA

Born: 7 May, 1977 in San Diego, USA

One of the best goal-kickers and game-controlling fly-halves of his era, Ronan O’Gara is still Ireland’s leading point scorer and the top point scorer in the history of the European Cup by some distance.

Across his 128 tests for Ireland O’Gara accrued 1,083 points in a career spanning 13 years from 2000-13. O’Gara went to three Rugby World Cups – 2003, 2007 and 2011 – and also toured with the British and Irish Lions on three occasions in 2001, 2005, 2009.

Perhaps his most notable moment in a green jersey was the last-minute drop goal which brought Ireland a 17-15 win over Wales and the 2009 Six Nations Grand Slam – Ireland’s first for 61 years. When he finally called time on his Irish career he was the sixth most-capped player in international rugby.

Despite being born in California, O’Gara was a Cork man through and through, making his Munster debut in 1997 and then helping the province to Heineken Cup wins in 2006 and 2008.

A superb reader of the game, a move into coaching was the natural course of action for O’Gara once he finally hung up his boots. After four years as an assistant coach at Racing 92, he left Paris at the end of 2017 to take on a similar role with the Crusaders in New Zealand.