Ronan O'Gara has tried to put himself in the Ireland boss’s shoes this week and he knows all too well that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to team selection.

With the nightmare of the World Cup in Japan finally consigned to history as the Andy Farrell era of Irish rugby got underway, it is somewhat ironic that the new boss’s very first tournament will have a direct influence on Ireland’s next World Cup campaign in France in three years’ time.

The French sporting press rarely struggles to find strong words - good or bad - to describe their national teams' performances, but journalists and pundits didn't quite know how to react after Les Bleus beat England in Paris on Sunday.

This is not France. There is no bottomless pit of players from which a head coach can pluck a new generation, as Fabien Galthié did for this Six Nations.

Ronan O'Gara rates the six teams vying for Six Nations glory this spring.

But imagine, in the context of what we saw late last year in Japan, had Ireland gone and won those hosting rights.

The man known as ‘Rees Lightning’ has landed like a bolt from the blue to star in the Cherry and White of Gloucester.

TOMORROW La Rochelle entertain Montpellier in the Top 14. There’s a lot riding on it, but I’ve been saying that for every one of the previous 13 games.

Racing 92’s head coach Laurent Travers is readying his side for a proxy European Cup knockout dogfight this weekend describing tomorrow’s clash as a “last-16 match”.

James Harrington Pool C quarter-final qualification was decided last weekend but, with reports of another Rugby World Cup mutiny in the French camp, it’s easy to forget there’s still one key match to play, assuming it does not fall victim to Typhoon Hagibis.

No room at the top — touch of farce as France load up on off-field leaders after a disappointing Six Nations. But who is really in charge, asks James Harrington

Ronan O’Gara is at the centre of a TOP14 battle for his services next season between La Rochelle and former club Racing 92.

Peter Jackson gets over the gain line, behind the headline

French Rugby president Bernard Laporte has kicked to touch on the possibility of Ronan O'Gara being part of the country's World Cup coaching ticket, insisting it's a call for head coach Jacques Brunel.

The possibility of Ronan O'Gara being part of France's backroom team for the 2019 World Cup has increased with French Rugby Federation sources in Paris confirmed the Munster and Ireland legend was "under consideration."

Ronan O’Gara has been linked with a role in the French coaching setup for the World Cup.

This may be the biggest game of his fledgling career as a head coach but five months into his tenure as Munster boss, Johann van Graan is finally in familiar territory.

Thomond Park and its 26,000-plus fanatics made quite the din last Saturday. 

It was not the first time Toulon captain Mathieu Bastareaud had appeared baffled by the events that had unfolded in front of his eyes at Thomond Park on Saturday.

A chip on the shoulder and the feeling of being written off.

It is the nature of the beast that when rugby players delve into the memory banks of games past, it is the disappointments they reach first.

Toulon coach Fabien Galthie is hopeful that French captain Guilhem Guirado will be fit for Saturday’s Champions Cup showdown against Munster at Thomond Park.

Veteran Argentine international Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe is doubtful for Saturday’s Champions Cup quarter-final against Munster but the task facing Peter O’Mahony’s men was laid out in no uncertain terms in Toulon yesterday.

Head coach Mike Ford has left Toulon by mutual agreement, with Richard Cockerill taking charge of the first team, the French side have announced.

Noir. That’s the word used by both Midi Olympique and L’Equipe in their Monday editions to describe France’s crushing defeat on Sunday at the hands of Ireland in Cardiff.

Racing Metro coach Laurent Labit fears Johnny Sexton could suffer more concussions because of his tackling style.

The pressure eased slightly on coach Fabien Galthie as Montpellier ended a run of seven successive defeats with a thrilling 23-20 victory over Toulouse in their Top 14 clash on Saturday.

The Irish are muscling in on French rugby conversation again. Ulster walloping Montpellier at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir last Saturday has catapulted Mark Anscombe’s squad into talk about eventual Heineken Cup winners.

Montpellier 8 Ulster 25

Ulster coach Mark Anscombe was “enormously proud” of his players after they claimed their biggest Heineken Cup win on French soil 25-8 over Montpellier yesterday.

Munster’s double-header with Perpignan in December looks like being the key to qualification from the pool stages of the 2013/14 Heineken Cup following the release of the official fixture list yesterday.

FRANCE centre Aurelien Rougerie believes referee Dave Pearson was right to postpone Saturday night’s Six Nations clash with Ireland.

IT was Leinster’s misfortune that they were chosen to share the stage with Montpellier when they made their bow in the Heineken Cup last November and they ultimately did well to fly home with a share of the spoils.

MANY a stat has been trotted out to highlight Leinster’s run of exemplary form but most notable is the fact that, with the Six Nations looming, their Irish internationals have yet to taste defeat on provincial duty this season.

Leinster head coach Joe Schmidt was not surprised that Jonathan Sexton held his nerve to salvage a 16-16 draw with the last kick of a pulsating game against Montpellier.

A GAME of firsts, this one.

IT WOULD have taken every last man in Declan Kidney’s squad a good week or two to flush the disappointment of New Zealand from their systems but it took Eoin Reddan a bit longer than the rest.

HE’S a powerful back-row and an explosive runner who has become a cult figure among his supporters and the subject of tribute videos on the internet.

KEVIN McLAUGHLIN hasn’t exactly got a wealth of experience when it comes to playing rugby in France but he has enough to know what to expect in Montpellier this Saturday.