There was no surprise when Ronan O’Gara dismissed links with the vacant head coach job at Munster and now the La Rochelle boss has reiterated his international ambitions, name-dropping “England, Ireland or France” as preferred destinations.
The former Ireland and Munster out-half has been head coach of La Rochelle since 2021 and led the Top14 side to Champions Cup glory in 2022 and 2023, beating Leinster in both finals.
Inevitable links with a return to Munster emerged when Graham Rowntree departed the 2023 URC champions in October but O’Gara has been open about his drive to lead La Rochelle to a French title, with the step up to international rugby an obvious career goal down the road.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, currently on Lions duty, has a contract until the end of 2027, while the future of Wales boss Warren Gatland is uncertain after the Kiwi presided over 12 defeats in a row.
Asked about Wales, O’Gara (above) said: “I haven’t thought about that, to be honest with you. Without lacking humility, I would prefer Ireland, England or France.
“You have got to have those [international] ambitions, I think, because you want to be the best you can be.
“There are Test jobs I would bite people’s hands off for. That usually works itself out if you are good enough at your club.”
La Rochelle lost out in the Top14 final in 2023 after conceding a late try to Toulouse and are currently sixth in the table after 11 rounds.
They began their quest for a third Champions Cup crown with a 24-20 win at Bath on Friday and face Bristol, beaten by Leinster on Sunday, next.
“In France I am seen as very demanding and difficult because of standards I try and keep, but I just want players to try and experience what I did,” the 47-year-old (below,r), a Heineken Cup winner in 2006 and 2008, said.
“I got so much out of the game. It gave me wonderful emotions, and now I want to really try and give back.
“We have only won Europe twice. We’ve never won a Bouclier [French Top 14 title], so the attraction, determination and the carrot is huge.
“There are some really good people and really good players in this club. You try and inspire them.
“But at the minute, we are terribly inconsistent. We need to get our game going for 60 minutes, never mind 80. If we are good for 60, we will win a lot of games.
“[The Champions Cup] is a brilliant competition, obviously, because of what it has given me and my family.
“The emotion for it in La Rochelle is special because of what we’ve done. We need our ground humming against Bristol.
“Our force was always, like Munster back in the day, the 17,000 in the [Stade] Deflandre willing us over the line.
“Now, they sit down and watch a game. That can’t happen. It’s the same with our team, but we need to give them something to shout about.
“It is an absolute dogfight because every game is difficult in the Top14. People who are maybe not associated with it don’t realise it’s a scrap.”
