Ronan O'Gara: Finding the on-off switch can help light up Ireland’s future

Ronan O'Gara believes that Ireland's players are always switched on. The November internationals preceding a World Cup year have a sense of a ticking clock. Ireland rely on the same players. They are a 24/7 type of group. It's difficult to calculate the extent to which they can maintain their peak.

Ireland are the No 1 ranked side in the world. They play South Africa, Fiji and Australia in November. Andy Farrell and his management should focus on the positives of the games. Ronan O'Gara believes that if Johnny Sexton is taken out of Ireland's set-up, the performance will drop by up to 20%. He believes the team should not be afraid of taking scalps. Ronans O’Gera believes it would be a shock for Ireland to lose a game this November, but that shouldn't matter. He thinks the players should be more focused on taking the takeaways.

Last summer's All Blacks lost to Argentina and the Pumas. France have more options than New Zealand. England face Argentina, Japan, the All Black and Springboks in November. Scotland kick off the window on Saturday against Australia. Gregor Townsend and Finn Russell are not in the Scottish squad. Racing 92 are shocked that they were not included in their squad for the game. Henry Slade, Joe Launchbury, and Joe Marler are excluded. Eddie Jones is looking for combinations to fit his templates. He may gain most from this window. The first two games mirror their World Cup schedule.