HOW RONAN O’GARA is viewed in France was up for discussion on Rugby Weekly Extra, the podcast for subscribers to The 42.
Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella were joined today by French journalist Benjamin Deudon, who covers La Rochelle for the Sud Ouest newspaper.
Deudon said the Corkman is revered by fans of the European champions, even in a rugby nation he describes as one which admires players far more than coaches.
Yet O’Gara’s outspoken nature has taken many aback in French rugby, where coaches do not typically express strong views in public, according to Deudon.
“For critics on social media – he is an important figure, an important character of the Top 14,” Deudon said. “He is not really loved outside (La Rochelle) because he has got a very strong character, he says what he thinks.
“That is new in France because every coach says, ‘No, I don’t say anything about my rivals’ – and he doesn’t care.
“He has something to say, he says it. And it’s quite new in France, so a lot of people who are not La Rochelle’s fans disagree with that, they think he is arrogant – but he only says what he thinks.
“You’ve got a rivalry with Ugo Mola, the Toulouse coach . . . and that’s cool for La Rochelle who had always been seen like a good club, a nice club, who doesn’t make any sparklers with the other clubs and with ROG, it’s new . . . La Rochelle knows its strength and knows that it’s annoying for the other clubs and fans and they do enjoy that. That is really thanks to ROG. Before him, it wasn’t the case.”
Also on today’s pod, Murray takes a tactical deep dive and picks a winner for Saturday’s fifth instalment of the La Rochelle-Leinster rivalry.
And the lads discuss how Munster’s defeat to Northampton was due to areas of under-performance as well as the large caveats of injury and illness, but why there remains plenty of cause for optimism as the southern province attempt to defend their URC crown.
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