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INPHO/Billy Stickland
End game?

'I won't quit' - Ronan O'Gara rows back on talk of exit

“Retirement hasn’t entered my head seriously in that regard. I’m a fighter and I’ll keep fighting until the end.”

IRELAND OUT HALF Ronan O’Gara insists he has no intention of retiring from international rugby after the World Cup.

The Munster man seemed to suggest in an emotional television interview with RTÉ after Saturday’s stunning 15-6 victory over Australia that his 11-year international career was about to draw to a close.

“I’m done with Ireland in a few weeks. I’ve had a great time in this jersey but I want this to be the biggest time,” he told Hugh Cahill in Eden Park.

Overnight however, O’Gara has moved to ‘clarify’  his comments by stating that he was referring to the end of the World Cup and not his own position.

“Retirement has crossed my mind plenty of times over the last few years,” he told reporters in Lake Taupo, “There are plenty of thoughts in your head when you’re disappointed but it’s losers who quit when things aren’t going so well for them.

“Retirement hasn’t entered my head seriously in that regard. I’m a fighter and I’ll keep fighting until the end.”

Here’s what O’Gara said at the weekend:

He is now adamant however that he was misinterpreted.

“On Saturday I was speaking in the context of being done with Ireland in six or seven weeks’ time in terms of this World Cup,” he said.

“I said I’m done with Ireland in a few weeks and there are different interpretations of that. It was a great night, one of my best nights. I was so proud to be part of the team.

“In my own head I’ll reassess at the end of the World Cup.”

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