Ireland icon Ronan O’Gara has given a scathing indictment on the state of the club game in England, which has had a knock-on effect in the Test arena.
Reigning Six Nations champions Ireland on Saturday arrive at ‘headquarters’ bidding for a fifth straight win over England and knowing a bonus-point victory will ensure they retain the Six Nations title with a game to spare.
Andy Farrell’s charges are also aiming to become the first team in the Six Nations era to complete back-to-back Grand Slams – a feat last achieved by France in the 1997 and 1998 Five Nations.
They will kick-off as overwhelming favourites against a home team still smarting from a 30-21 defeat by Scotland in Edinburgh last time out, and speaking on the latest episode of Off The Ball, O’Gara highlights England’s troubles.
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“The big difference between when Brian [O’Driscoll] and myself played and now was that the English clubs were unbelievably strong,” the La Rochelle head coach said.
“The level in English rugby has gone very, very, very low. Saracens aren’t nearly extinct but they’re dying in front of us.
“For these players to excel in the Test arena, I think they need to perform for their clubs and that’s where Ireland have a massive advantage.
“Leinster are like an Ireland B team and then Munster have got competitive, as have Connacht. Ulster are not where they want to be but they’re still competitive.
“There’s such ingrained competitiveness in the system in Ireland that translates to the national team.
“From England’s point of view, there’s a renaissance with Northampton but with other teams, it’s not at the standard they want it to be and the league is nowhere near as competitive as it was 10 years ago.”
Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
