An extremely chuffed Ronan O'Gara received the freedom of Cork City on Thursday afternoon, and the Munster and Ireland legend didn't shy away from questions regarding his future from RTÉ.
O'Gara paid tribute to the people of Cork for the numerous occasions in which they picked him up from low points throughout his career, and admitted that, despite waking up in Paris each morning, he wakes up a proud Corkonian, carrying the same values as when he left for Racing 92.
He was then asked about Ireland's summer tour, when he'll join Joe Schmidt's coaching setup as an Ireland squad short of its Lions seeks to make an impression on the boss man. As to whether O'Gara would fancy stepping into Schmidt's shoes one day, it's something which Cork's newest free citizen admitted he frequently gives thought.
O'Gara told RTÉ:
If you’re ambitious, that’s always where you’d like to end up.
It’s a really ambitious thought plan, but if you don’t aim for it you'll never get there, so of course it's in the back of my head, but coaching is a bit of a marathon. You have to learn so many other skills that you don't need as a player. I’m enjoying the journey.
Of course it’s in my head to try and come back at some time to try and coach in Munster and Ireland, but you’ve got to earn that. Because you had a big name as a player that doesn't mean anything.
