RONAN O’GARA WILL probably continue to be linked with a move home to Ireland whenever there’s a hint of an opening, but the man himself has recommitted to La Rochelle. And La Rochelle have recommitted to ROG.
Last month, the Top 14 club confirmed a new four-year contract for O’Gara that runs until 2031.
If he sees this deal through, the Cork man will celebrate 12 years in La Rochelle. And who could blame the fella for signing another long-term deal with Stade Rochelais? O’Gara, his wife, and five children have a good thing going.
Although the last three seasons have involved plenty of frustration on the pitch, La Rochelle remain highly ambitious in the Top 14 and Champions Cup. The club has looked to regenerate its playing squad and desperately wants more silverware.
Off the pitch, the O’Garas live on the stunning island of Île de Ré just off the coast of La Rochelle and have well and truly made the place home. 18-year-old Rua O’Gara is now part of the rugby club’s espoirs set-up.
Life in La Rochelle is enjoyable, as O’Gara’s fellow islander Jack Nowell can attest to. The former England and Lions wing is now in his fourth season with La Rochelle and couldn’t be happier.
“Île de Ré is almost like a separate paradise,” says 33-year-old Nowell. “There’s a three-mile-long bridge that brings you onto the island. We live about 50 metres from the beach. We have a little house there, and it’s lovely.
“The kids go to school there. Cycle to school, pick them up, back to the beach, go for a swim, home, barbecues. And then La Rochelle itself is lovely as well. You’ve got the port, and it’s beautiful. We’re really enjoying it.”
Nowell and his wife, Zoe, have three children. Their eldest daughter, eight-year-old Nori, is fluent in French. Her sister, six-year-old Zimi, is not far off that level. Their three-year-old brother, Ivor, “speaks more Franglais” but is learning as he goes.
“They’re all a lot better than me, put it that way,” says Nowell with a laugh.
“I find it very difficult. That’s why I try and take my daughter with me everywhere. She can translate.”
Cornwall man Nowell never imagined leaving his beloved Exeter Chiefs when he was younger, but having won the Champions Cup in 2020, there was an eventual exodus of that great team in the years that followed.
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Nowell arrives ahead of a match in La Rochelle. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Nowell did have a curiosity about seeing other parts of the world, and when a strong offer arrived from La Rochelle, who had just won back-to-back Champions Cup titles, it was too good to refuse.
He has loved the challenge of playing in the Top 14, where an away game against even the bottom side in the league tends to be a brutally physical test in front of a hostile crowd.
Nowell loves how cities like La Rochelle revolve around the game at the weekend, with the whole place essentially shutting down as kick-off approaches.
The big thing that annoys him is not winning a trophy with Stade Rochelais yet. He moved over with a big aim of helping the club to their first-ever Top 14 title, but it hasn’t happened so far.
The lack of trophies in the last three years doesn’t well with head coach O’Gara, whose staff includes fellow former Munster players Donnacha Ryan and Sean Dougall, while out-half Ben Healy has joined the playing squad this season.
“How much he wants to win,” says Nowell when asked about O’Gara’s strengths as a head coach.
The former Munster and Ireland can be stinging when La Rochelle fail to deliver a performance, and he is always direct, but Nowell praises the balance O’Gara brings.
“He can’t hide his emotions after a tough loss or if we’ve not performed. You certainly know about it on the Monday morning,” says Nowell.
“But when the energy’s there, he’s the first one to congratulate the side on our efforts.
“He’s extremely honest. A lot of coaches aren’t honest because sometimes it’s quite tough to be honest when you need to be, when you’re in a difficult situation.
“But then sometimes a player needs to have an arm put around them. ROG is very good at judging when to be harsh and when to be soft, and getting to know that player, what he needs, and what makes him tick, and what makes him perform the best at the weekend.”
One of the key themes Nowell and other La Rochelle players speak about is how family-oriented the club is.
La Rochelle boss Ronan O'Gara. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
He explains that the majority of their training days start after school drop-off time and end before school collection time. There is no school on Wednesday, so that’s when Stade Rochelais are usually off too, and “it’s a proper off day as well.”
Furthermore, players’ children are welcome into the club when there is no serious training happening.
“If I ever want to come in on a day off to do some recovery or to do a gym session, my kids will be there,” says Nowell.
“Other players’ kids will be there, and they’re able to run around on the field and play. All the coaches and all the staff are high-fiving the kids and making us feel very welcome.”
And Nowell says that O’Gara sets the tone in this area.
“He’s very family-oriented. I still remember the first week of being here, he said, ‘This is our date that we’re starting pre-season but if your family aren’t settled, if you need more time, I don’t want to see you. Stay at home with your family. You make sure they’re OK first.’
“When a coach says that to you, it does really put you at ease because when you’ve got a big family, and you’ve come over to a different country, you want to make sure that they’re OK. So just little things like that show his class.”
Nowell also enjoys how so many former Stade Rochelais players are involved behind the scenes at the club, even in administrative roles that don’t directly relate to rugby performance.
The atmosphere builds a desire among La Rochelle’s players to repay the club with strong performances.
In that sense, they feel they have fallen short in recent seasons. So they have started this one with renewed vigour, with four wins from six games in the Top 14 so far, as well as a victory over the Lions on an emotional occasion last weekend in the Champions Cup.
Nowell, who is out of contract at the end of this season but would evidently be happy to stay in La Rochelle, is determined to help O’Gara’s team to the top.
“Our expectations here as a team are to try and get to semi-finals and finals,” says Nowell.
“We’ve probably felt like we’ve let ourselves down a little bit in terms of how far we’ve been able to get, considering the team won it [the Champions Cup] for two years in a row just before I came.
“I want to be part of that as a team. Obviously I understand that feeling of winning with Exeter, and there’s nothing more I’d like to do than achieve that with this team.”
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'ROG is very good at judging when to be harsh and when to be soft'
RONAN O’GARA WILL probably continue to be linked with a move home to Ireland whenever there’s a hint of an opening, but the man himself has recommitted to La Rochelle. And La Rochelle have recommitted to ROG.
Last month, the Top 14 club confirmed a new four-year contract for O’Gara that runs until 2031.
If he sees this deal through, the Cork man will celebrate 12 years in La Rochelle. And who could blame the fella for signing another long-term deal with Stade Rochelais? O’Gara, his wife, and five children have a good thing going.
Although the last three seasons have involved plenty of frustration on the pitch, La Rochelle remain highly ambitious in the Top 14 and Champions Cup. The club has looked to regenerate its playing squad and desperately wants more silverware.
Off the pitch, the O’Garas live on the stunning island of Île de Ré just off the coast of La Rochelle and have well and truly made the place home. 18-year-old Rua O’Gara is now part of the rugby club’s espoirs set-up.
Life in La Rochelle is enjoyable, as O’Gara’s fellow islander Jack Nowell can attest to. The former England and Lions wing is now in his fourth season with La Rochelle and couldn’t be happier.
“Île de Ré is almost like a separate paradise,” says 33-year-old Nowell. “There’s a three-mile-long bridge that brings you onto the island. We live about 50 metres from the beach. We have a little house there, and it’s lovely.
“The kids go to school there. Cycle to school, pick them up, back to the beach, go for a swim, home, barbecues. And then La Rochelle itself is lovely as well. You’ve got the port, and it’s beautiful. We’re really enjoying it.”
Nowell and his wife, Zoe, have three children. Their eldest daughter, eight-year-old Nori, is fluent in French. Her sister, six-year-old Zimi, is not far off that level. Their three-year-old brother, Ivor, “speaks more Franglais” but is learning as he goes.
“They’re all a lot better than me, put it that way,” says Nowell with a laugh.
“I find it very difficult. That’s why I try and take my daughter with me everywhere. She can translate.”
Cornwall man Nowell never imagined leaving his beloved Exeter Chiefs when he was younger, but having won the Champions Cup in 2020, there was an eventual exodus of that great team in the years that followed.
Nowell did have a curiosity about seeing other parts of the world, and when a strong offer arrived from La Rochelle, who had just won back-to-back Champions Cup titles, it was too good to refuse.
He has loved the challenge of playing in the Top 14, where an away game against even the bottom side in the league tends to be a brutally physical test in front of a hostile crowd.
Nowell loves how cities like La Rochelle revolve around the game at the weekend, with the whole place essentially shutting down as kick-off approaches.
The big thing that annoys him is not winning a trophy with Stade Rochelais yet. He moved over with a big aim of helping the club to their first-ever Top 14 title, but it hasn’t happened so far.
The lack of trophies in the last three years doesn’t well with head coach O’Gara, whose staff includes fellow former Munster players Donnacha Ryan and Sean Dougall, while out-half Ben Healy has joined the playing squad this season.
“How much he wants to win,” says Nowell when asked about O’Gara’s strengths as a head coach.
The former Munster and Ireland can be stinging when La Rochelle fail to deliver a performance, and he is always direct, but Nowell praises the balance O’Gara brings.
“He can’t hide his emotions after a tough loss or if we’ve not performed. You certainly know about it on the Monday morning,” says Nowell.
“But when the energy’s there, he’s the first one to congratulate the side on our efforts.
“He’s extremely honest. A lot of coaches aren’t honest because sometimes it’s quite tough to be honest when you need to be, when you’re in a difficult situation.
“But then sometimes a player needs to have an arm put around them. ROG is very good at judging when to be harsh and when to be soft, and getting to know that player, what he needs, and what makes him tick, and what makes him perform the best at the weekend.”
One of the key themes Nowell and other La Rochelle players speak about is how family-oriented the club is.
He explains that the majority of their training days start after school drop-off time and end before school collection time. There is no school on Wednesday, so that’s when Stade Rochelais are usually off too, and “it’s a proper off day as well.”
Furthermore, players’ children are welcome into the club when there is no serious training happening.
“If I ever want to come in on a day off to do some recovery or to do a gym session, my kids will be there,” says Nowell.
“Other players’ kids will be there, and they’re able to run around on the field and play. All the coaches and all the staff are high-fiving the kids and making us feel very welcome.”
And Nowell says that O’Gara sets the tone in this area.
“He’s very family-oriented. I still remember the first week of being here, he said, ‘This is our date that we’re starting pre-season but if your family aren’t settled, if you need more time, I don’t want to see you. Stay at home with your family. You make sure they’re OK first.’
“When a coach says that to you, it does really put you at ease because when you’ve got a big family, and you’ve come over to a different country, you want to make sure that they’re OK. So just little things like that show his class.”
Nowell also enjoys how so many former Stade Rochelais players are involved behind the scenes at the club, even in administrative roles that don’t directly relate to rugby performance.
The atmosphere builds a desire among La Rochelle’s players to repay the club with strong performances.
In that sense, they feel they have fallen short in recent seasons. So they have started this one with renewed vigour, with four wins from six games in the Top 14 so far, as well as a victory over the Lions on an emotional occasion last weekend in the Champions Cup.
Nowell, who is out of contract at the end of this season but would evidently be happy to stay in La Rochelle, is determined to help O’Gara’s team to the top.
“Our expectations here as a team are to try and get to semi-finals and finals,” says Nowell.
“We’ve probably felt like we’ve let ourselves down a little bit in terms of how far we’ve been able to get, considering the team won it [the Champions Cup] for two years in a row just before I came.
“I want to be part of that as a team. Obviously I understand that feeling of winning with Exeter, and there’s nothing more I’d like to do than achieve that with this team.”
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Jack Nowell la rochelle ROG Ronan O'Gara stade rochelais Top 14