Having spent much of his post-playing career outside of Ireland, Ronan O'Gara perhaps has a more nuanced view on Irish rugby than many other former internationals.
Not only has his time in France and New Zealand allowed him to evolve his view of the game from a tactical point of view, but spending some time away from his homeland would also give him a different perspective on how the Ireland team is viewed both at home and abroad.
In this country, it's fair to say there there are large sections of the population that find it difficult to relate to the national rugby team. They view it as a sport dominated by the richest people in our society, something that quite often permeates down to the supporter base.
However, there is a sense that this could be slowly changing.
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Ronan O'Gara notices interesting change with current Ireland team
This year's Rugby World Cup has gripped the country in a manner that we have seen from very few other sporting events, with the current Ireland rugby team drawing more interest than any other iteration of the side.
A lot of that is down to the success they have experienced on the pitch, but their attitude off it has also played a part. In short, this group does not seem to come with some of the airs and graces of past Irish teams.
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Speaking on Off The Ball, Ronan O'Gara said that this Ireland team will attract a whole new set of supporters. He also said he could see why some sections of the public had previously been put off by aspects of the Irish rugby experience.
This group are playing for their public and are incredibly proud to represent Ireland. They're doing a great job at the minute.
I get it, I'm outside Ireland and I can see why some people don't like the Irish rugby team. There's ex-players sometimes that don't give the Irish team a good rep. Some of the stuff that's on social media, you're like 'woah, stay away from that'.
I think in general though, this Rugby World Cup and what Ireland are doing at the minute is very appealing to the normal Joe soap, because they can see a team that is genuine, normal, that represents the working class people of Ireland as opposed to just the elite private schools...
I get the people that aren't rugby fans in the country, sometimes there are people in the game of rugby at home that don't help...
There's one or two (former players). They're entitled to their viewpoint on one or two things, but some of the rest of the people who played for over ten years for Ireland are incredibly proud of what this current team is doing.
I'm not saying these guys weren't proud of what they're doing, it's just when you read one or two of the things that are being said about making comparisons on the pitch and performance in other areas, it's just bizarre.
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We can all think of one or two former Ireland players that Ronan O'Gara might be referring to here.
It does seem true that there is more goodwill backing this Irish team than other editions of the team, something that will only increase if they can overcome New Zealand in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final this weekend.
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