Happy to be part of a real tour de force

Ronan O'Gara tells Gerry Thornley that, while it's important he plays, the Lions tour is not a personal crusade

No time for dilly-dallying, least of all for Ronan O'Gara. With a World Cup-winning outhalf who has his own clothing signature, a Grand Slam-winning outhalf who has just arrived in town, and England's first-choice outhalf, O'Gara isn't short of competition on this Lions tour.

Four outhalfs then, and only five matches before the Test team to play the All Blacks in Christchurch is named. O'Gara has been granted a first run against the Bay of Plenty in a Lions selection which, for all the political correctness of taking each game as it comes, bears more than a passing resemblance to a Test team in the making.

Behind a fairly experienced and grizzled pack, playing outside Dwayne Peel and inside a midfield of Gavin Henson and Brian O'Driscoll, O'Gara also has a golden opportunity.

You can ill-afford to have a limp on this tour and, for some more than others, you can ill-afford to have a bad game.

"That's exactly the point, if it does go wrong I definitely won't get another go. It's as simple as that. I have to be realistic about it. If it does go wrong I won't be featuring (in the Tests). But I use that as a positive," he maintains.

Not that O'Gara is going to wreck his head with thoughts that the success or otherwise of this tour will hinge on him making the Test 22. To a degree it might be for public consumption, and anyone who knows O'Gara can only vouch for an extremely competitive animal, but the Munster outhalf willingly adopts the line that it is better to be here than not to have travelled at all. "I'm playing with the best players of the Home Nations and it only comes around every four years.

"There is great competition for places, and the most important thing for me is that I challenge for a Test spot. But if I perform to the top of my ability then that will encourage Jonny Wilkinson, Charlie Hodgson and Stephen Jones to play to the best of their ability, and that can only be good for the Lions."

No matter what happens over the next five weeks, he argues that he'll be a better person and player for the experience. "In the two weeks I've had already it does improve your game from being around better people and better players. You pick up their habits."

Early days yet, after all, the Lions are still unbeaten at this juncture, but O'Gara speaks of an apparently harmonious and happy camp so far. "I'm amazed by how quickly and easily fellas are getting on. Usually in a squad of 45 you'd find one or two who are difficult, but I can honestly say everyone has gelled really well together."

O'Gara comes into this tour opener relatively fresh after his latest knee injury sidelined him for seven weeks. He's also still mightily grateful that he averted being ruled out of this tour and longer by a matter of 12 hours after a visit to Ger Hartmann.

"I suffered a grade two medial ligament tear in the cruciate, and I was 12 hours away from knee surgery and six months recuperation. All kinds of things go through your head when you get news like that," he admitted. "If it wasn't for the insertion of a pin I would have had to have surgery."

He could have pushed himself to play in the Celtic Cup semi-final against Leinster, but wisely waited another week for the final, which his Munster team-mates duly earned. Against Llanelli he played as if he'd never been away, and put an undistinguished end to the Six Nations behind him.

Watching him that day made you laugh at the sometime criticism of O'Gara that he can only sit in the pocket and kick to the corners. Playing close to the gain line, spinning the ball off both hands, his flat pass took out three players for Anthony Horgan's opening try, and he garnished a near-faultless display with 17 points. It was a reminder of what he can do, perhaps as much to himself as anyone else.

"That was one of the best games I can remember playing; I felt as sharp as I have done in three years. I took a fair bit of confidence from that game."

Granted, he had plenty of go-forward ball that day, and conditions might dictate more old-fashioned Munster virtues tomorrow.

The general perception would be that O'Gara had a distinctly unhappy Lions tour in Australia four years ago, what with one of the abiding images being that of his blood-drenched face after Duncan McRae unleashed a hail of punches on the Irish outhalf while pinning him to the ground.

His most recent outing in the Lions's red jersey was in the victory over ACT Brumbies, when O'Gara laid on the injury-time try for Austin Healey with an around-the-corner pass to the Leicester Lip; Matt Dawson landed the match-winning conversion.

"It's nice to have a happy memory of that tour," said O'Gara, who nevertheless conceded: "Four years ago when it came to the Test series Jonny (Wilkinson) was so far ahead of me, but I think I've closed the gap. I'm more confident now, and the so-called stars of the world game don't faze me."

Brave words, self-confident words, but when you're around company like this, Ronan O'Gara can ill afford to be any other way.