Ronan O'Gara laughs quietly at a suggestion that Munster's large contingent of ­Ireland players might have sated appetites after last month's grand slam success. The Heineken Cup holders face the Ospreys on Sunday in a quarter-final at Thomond Park and most of the visitors will be motivated by thoughts of revenge. O'Gara's late drop goal at the Millennium Stadium denied Wales the triple crown and ended Ireland's 61-year wait for a clean sweep.

"Winning the grand slam was immense, but Ireland and Munster are totally different entities," says O'Gara. "Munster may have won the Heineken Cup last season, but the moment you put the trophy in the cabinet you start plotting how to retain it. We want the Heineken Cup as badly as we ever did. The game against the Ospreys is not Ireland against Wales part two."

O'Gara's first thought at the end of the match at the Millennium Stadium three weeks ago was not to celebrate with his Ireland team-mates but to seek out and console his opposite number, the Wales fly-half Stephen Jones, who had the chance to win the match with a 50-yard penalty at the end of the game that fell a couple of yards short. Colleagues with the Lions in New Zealand four years ago, and perhaps again in South Africa this summer, experience had taught them that one man's elation was another's despair.

"Stephen is a good guy and I have a lot of time for him," says the 32-year-old O'Gara. "I guess it was the kicker coming out in me. I am only too aware of sport's ups and downs and I had been where he was. He is a remarkable player having been very consistent over a decade of international rugby.

"Rugby teaches you to be humble. Young players coming into the game have to appreciate that it is not Premier League ­soccer. Rugby is a different sport entirely: the great thing about the game is the people you meet and the injection of qualities and values it gives you that last well beyond the end of your playing days.

"I have had highs and lows throughout my career: just as you should not get carried away by success, nor should you waste time beating yourself up after a bad day. Whatever happens, you have to move on."

On Sunday, O'Gara is likely to be up against James Hook, who has been kept out of the Wales side by Jones over the past year. Hook's absence from Warren Gatland's starting XV is largely because his ability to unlock the tightest of defences by a shrug of the hips or clever footwork has counted for less than his rival's ­ability to control a game. Indeed, O'Gara ­possesses similar qualities to Jones: there is little that is flash but the pair orchestrate victories, batons in hand.

"I have not played against James Hook much," says O'Gara. "He is clearly a ­brilliant talent who looks to have all the attributes. He is a young fella and outside-half is all about how you react to different situations. That comes with experience and I know that at his age I had a fair bit to learn.

"He is part of a very impressive team and we are aware of just how strong and ambitious the Ospreys are. They are very dangerous and it should make for another electric occasion at Thomond Park. Not so very long ago, I would have been uptight at this stage, but I am old enough now to be able to relish the day as it draws near.

"That was the strange thing about the grand slam. The Wednesday before the Wales game I did not feel anything like I had before Munster's two [winning] Heineken Cup finals [in 2006 and 2008]. I was far more relaxed and when we beat Wales I thought I would feel less than I had after our European triumphs, yet I had an inner pleasure that lasted for a good few days; that showed just how big an event it was."

O'Gara may be closer to the end of his career than the beginning and boasting a ­garland of medals, but he has some unfinished business. He is eight caps away from 100 for Ireland and 84 points away from 1,000. He has scored more points in the Heineken Cup and the Six Nations than any other player, but the only part he has played in a Lions Test was as a replacement against New Zealand in the final Test four years ago, despite making two tours, the first to Australia for another series defeat in 2001.

"I would love to go on a third tour," he says. "I want to make an impact at Test level and that would be my goal if chosen in the squad. There is all to play for at No10 with Jonny Wilkinson struggling with injury. I am a very competitive person and 2005 was not how the Lions should be played. Anyone who goes to South Africa and gets the chance to rectify that should be fired by it.

"I have not thought about when I will retire. I would like to think I have another couple of years left in me. I have been ­fortunate with injuries and have never had major surgery, but it never pays to look too far ahead. One hundred caps for Ireland would be grand, but the only time to talk about that is if it happens. I believe in fate, not tempting it."