We’ve been waiting for this moment since Ronan O’Gara first moved to La Rochelle in 2019. Yet Munster and Stade Rochelais have avoided each other for nearly six years, the French club instead building an intense rivalry with Leinster in that time.
Perhaps that was fitting given O’Gara’s history as a player but it was always likely that his team’s path would cross with Munster’s at some stage.
The so-called O’Garaico finally happens at the 16,700-capacity Stade Marcel Deflandre this evening as La Rochelle host their head coach’s beloved native province in the Champions Cup round of 16 [KO 5.30pm Irish time, Premier Sports].
It was always going to be a strange occasion for O’Gara and Munster given how they used to go into battle together but it’s all the stranger for the La Rochelle boss because his team have been in such a trough recently.
Now down to 10th in the Top 14, they haven’t won a game since early January when a late penalty saw them squeeze past a young Toulouse team at the Marcel Deflandre. In all, La Rochelle have won only 10 of their 24 games in both competitions this season.
The Top 14 is the most competitive league in rugby but even accounting for that, La Rochelle have been a shadow of the team that won back-to-back Champions Cup titles in 2022 and 2023, having lost the 2021 final.
They hope the occasion today draws some of that quality out of them and it’s certainly heartening for O’Gara to welcome influential scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow back from injury in a side that includes titans like captain Grégory Alldritt, tighthead Uini Atonio, and mammoth lock Will Skelton.
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Stade Rochelais have excellent fans. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
34-year-old Kerr-Barlow is moving on at the end of this season, with 22-year-old sensation Nolann Le Garrec coming in from Racing to replace him, so there is the feel of the end of a chapter for Stade Rochelais right now.
With fearsome France flanker Paul Boudehent out injured, 36-year-old back row Levani Botia is another figure looking to roll back a season or two to produce a massive performance in front of the proud La Rochelle support.
This has surely been a stressful week for O’Gara simply because there are no guarantees that La Rochelle will return to their best because of the stakes.
He knows there is a feral challenge coming from Munster, who clearly have limitations. Doubts persist about their depth and they have struggled to make a physical impact against the best teams.
But O’Gara knows that his friend Mike Prendergast can get Munster playing thrilling attacking rugby, all the more so with Craig Casey having returned at number nine.
Losing centre Alex Nankivell to suspension is a major blow for Munster, perhaps even terminal, but returning fullback Thaakir Abrahams is another one who will add some attacking thrust.
Denis Leamy’s defence will need to be rock-solid, particularly in close quarters, but Munster know they can be inspired by the Red Army. O’Gara has warned La Rochelle that this wave of travelling supporters is coming. They’re expected to take over the picturesque port town today and while they’ll be outnumbered in the Marcel Deflandre, they will make themselves heard.
La Rochelle remain favourites despite their poor form and while his team have great pedigree in this competition, O’Gara knows better than anyone that a trip like this can lift Munster to produce passionate, never-say-die performances.
Munster's captain's run. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Some Munster fans will have been disappointed to see Tom Ahern dropping back to the bench as Peter O’Mahony returns from injury, but the latter has always been well suited to this kind of battle, both emotionally and in terms of the importance of lineout and maul against Donnacha Ryan’s La Rochelle pack. Ahern’s impact will be useful on a day when both sides have gone for 6/2 bench splits.
There will be plenty of eyes on Jack Crowley, who came in for criticism and praise from O’Gara during the Six Nations. He served a reminder of his class last weekend against Connacht but this game is a big step up. Crowley might not be thinking of it as a chance to make a personal statement, but the rest of us can view it that way as he faces the coach who tried to bring him to La Rochelle in 2021.
Opposite him is Ihaia West, who won the Champions Cup with La Rochelle in 2022, then moved on to Toulon, but returned a year later. It had seemed Antoine Hastoy would nail down the number 10 shirt at one point, yet he’s on the bench today as West goes again.
That strand adds to the doubts about whether La Rochelle can get back to former heights under O’Gara, although it’s also doubtful whether they need to get right back to those levels to overcome Munster here.
The plan for Ian Costello and co. will be to pounce on any signs of ongoing malaise from les Maritimes and give their travelling hordes yet another special memory on the road in this competition.
So while it’s been a long time coming, this contest may be well worth the wait.
STADE ROCHELAIS: Dillyn Leyds: Jack Nowell, Teddy Thomas, UJ Seuteni, Hoani Bosmorin; Ihaia West, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Reda Wardi, Pierre Bourgarit, Uini Atonio; Thomas Lavault, Will Skelton; Levani Botia, Oscar Jegou, Grégory Alldritt (captain).
MUNSTER: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Seán O’Brien, Andrew Smith; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Oli Jager; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (captain); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern, Conor Murray, Rory Scannell, Alex Kendellen.
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Munster's showdown with La Rochelle has been a long time coming
THIS ONE HAS been a long time coming.
We’ve been waiting for this moment since Ronan O’Gara first moved to La Rochelle in 2019. Yet Munster and Stade Rochelais have avoided each other for nearly six years, the French club instead building an intense rivalry with Leinster in that time.
Perhaps that was fitting given O’Gara’s history as a player but it was always likely that his team’s path would cross with Munster’s at some stage.
The so-called O’Garaico finally happens at the 16,700-capacity Stade Marcel Deflandre this evening as La Rochelle host their head coach’s beloved native province in the Champions Cup round of 16 [KO 5.30pm Irish time, Premier Sports].
It was always going to be a strange occasion for O’Gara and Munster given how they used to go into battle together but it’s all the stranger for the La Rochelle boss because his team have been in such a trough recently.
Now down to 10th in the Top 14, they haven’t won a game since early January when a late penalty saw them squeeze past a young Toulouse team at the Marcel Deflandre. In all, La Rochelle have won only 10 of their 24 games in both competitions this season.
The Top 14 is the most competitive league in rugby but even accounting for that, La Rochelle have been a shadow of the team that won back-to-back Champions Cup titles in 2022 and 2023, having lost the 2021 final.
They hope the occasion today draws some of that quality out of them and it’s certainly heartening for O’Gara to welcome influential scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow back from injury in a side that includes titans like captain Grégory Alldritt, tighthead Uini Atonio, and mammoth lock Will Skelton.
34-year-old Kerr-Barlow is moving on at the end of this season, with 22-year-old sensation Nolann Le Garrec coming in from Racing to replace him, so there is the feel of the end of a chapter for Stade Rochelais right now.
With fearsome France flanker Paul Boudehent out injured, 36-year-old back row Levani Botia is another figure looking to roll back a season or two to produce a massive performance in front of the proud La Rochelle support.
This has surely been a stressful week for O’Gara simply because there are no guarantees that La Rochelle will return to their best because of the stakes.
He knows there is a feral challenge coming from Munster, who clearly have limitations. Doubts persist about their depth and they have struggled to make a physical impact against the best teams.
But O’Gara knows that his friend Mike Prendergast can get Munster playing thrilling attacking rugby, all the more so with Craig Casey having returned at number nine.
Losing centre Alex Nankivell to suspension is a major blow for Munster, perhaps even terminal, but returning fullback Thaakir Abrahams is another one who will add some attacking thrust.
Denis Leamy’s defence will need to be rock-solid, particularly in close quarters, but Munster know they can be inspired by the Red Army. O’Gara has warned La Rochelle that this wave of travelling supporters is coming. They’re expected to take over the picturesque port town today and while they’ll be outnumbered in the Marcel Deflandre, they will make themselves heard.
La Rochelle remain favourites despite their poor form and while his team have great pedigree in this competition, O’Gara knows better than anyone that a trip like this can lift Munster to produce passionate, never-say-die performances.
Some Munster fans will have been disappointed to see Tom Ahern dropping back to the bench as Peter O’Mahony returns from injury, but the latter has always been well suited to this kind of battle, both emotionally and in terms of the importance of lineout and maul against Donnacha Ryan’s La Rochelle pack. Ahern’s impact will be useful on a day when both sides have gone for 6/2 bench splits.
There will be plenty of eyes on Jack Crowley, who came in for criticism and praise from O’Gara during the Six Nations. He served a reminder of his class last weekend against Connacht but this game is a big step up. Crowley might not be thinking of it as a chance to make a personal statement, but the rest of us can view it that way as he faces the coach who tried to bring him to La Rochelle in 2021.
Opposite him is Ihaia West, who won the Champions Cup with La Rochelle in 2022, then moved on to Toulon, but returned a year later. It had seemed Antoine Hastoy would nail down the number 10 shirt at one point, yet he’s on the bench today as West goes again.
That strand adds to the doubts about whether La Rochelle can get back to former heights under O’Gara, although it’s also doubtful whether they need to get right back to those levels to overcome Munster here.
The plan for Ian Costello and co. will be to pounce on any signs of ongoing malaise from les Maritimes and give their travelling hordes yet another special memory on the road in this competition.
So while it’s been a long time coming, this contest may be well worth the wait.
STADE ROCHELAIS: Dillyn Leyds: Jack Nowell, Teddy Thomas, UJ Seuteni, Hoani Bosmorin; Ihaia West, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Reda Wardi, Pierre Bourgarit, Uini Atonio; Thomas Lavault, Will Skelton; Levani Botia, Oscar Jegou, Grégory Alldritt (captain).
Replacements: Quentin Lespiaucq, Alexandre Kaddouri, Aleksandre Kuntelia, Ultan Dillane, Judicaël Cancoriet, Matthias Haddad, Antoine Hastoy, Jules Favre.
MUNSTER: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Seán O’Brien, Andrew Smith; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Oli Jager; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (captain); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern, Conor Murray, Rory Scannell, Alex Kendellen.
Referee: Andrea Piardi [Italy].
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Champions Cup la rochelle Munster O'Garaico Preview round of 16 Stade Marcel Deflandre