Being head coach of England is one of the coveted positions in rugby, so Brian O'Driscoll can sympathise with Ronan O'Gara saying he'd be more than open to the gig.
Leinster legend O'Driscoll has previously tipped his old international team-mate to reach the pinnacle of coaching and said last year that both the Munster and Ireland jobs could one day be in his grasp. Rumours of England come at a time when incumbent Eddie Jones is under immense pressure and will seemingly be replaced after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
That means English fans face a wait even if O'Gara were to be offered the position, one O'Driscoll concedes would be "hard to turn down." Ireland's most capped player of all time said the scale of the Premiership player pool makes the England job "very exciting, very enticing," but there's such a thing as the wrong timing.
O'Gara has barely started out in his career as a head coach, having taken on his first senior position at La Rochelle in 2019 before being made the overall head of their rugby operation last year. And yet the former fly-half is attracting major plaudits as an emerging mastermind, ushering in links with even the highest-profile roles in the trade.
The tactician himself is partly responsible for the recent rush of rumours regarding the England job. When asked during a recent appearance on BT Sport whether he would be open to leading England, O'Gara described the gig as a "great job," adding "there’s so much potential there. There’s serious rugby players; serious passion for the game in England. It’s a cracking job, you’d love to have a go off that.”
It's the kind of appointment that may sound like music to the ears of some fans given O'Gara's brand of progressive rugby compared to England's at-times laborious approach en route to a second straight losing Six Nations. La Rochelle featured in two finals last season, now sitting third in the Top 14 and having scored 59 tries—second only to Clermont's 60—while only reigning champions Toulouse boast a better defence.
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"I think he [O'Gara] could be a good fit in any environment," O'Driscoll told Mirror Sport when asked if his old comrade would suit as England chief. Just as is the case for players, however, he questioned whether the Cork-raised talent—with whom he ventured on three British and Irish Lions tours—was "ready yet for the international [level]."
"This is his first [year as a chief decision-maker] with La Rochelle," added the 43-year-old. "You have to remember that as well. You have to be careful how much you fast-track someone; it didn't work out great for [former Leicester-turned-England head coach] Martin Johnson."
It's a fair point considering Johnson held similar legendary status as an England player before failing to replicate that success in a three-year stint as coach, which ended after a disappointing 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign. He replaced Brian Ashton—who led both England and Ireland—in 2008 despite having no previous experience as a head coach.
There may be a certain sense of betrayal when the prospect of an Ireland legend taking over the England helm comes up. The two countries have long shared a heated rivalry, and an Irishman has never held the top job in English rugby.
Those allegiances 'go out the window the day you retire' as a player, however, as O'Driscoll assured the focus then shifts to securing the best position possible. "Then it's about the best jobs out there, with the best teams and the best environments and the best cultures," with England certainly among that elite bracket.
In any case, La Rochelle have secured O'Gara's services on a contract running until 2024, and he doesn't seem like the type to renege on an agreement. The 45-year-old faces one of the toughest tests of his coaching career to date in the last 16 of this year's Champions Cup, where La Rochelle face fellow French high-flyers Bordeaux.
It feels like a matter of when and not if bigger opportunities come calling, however, and those with insight of his methods are confident he'll be ready when they do.
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