Ronan O’Gara: Can you feel sore without being a sore loser?

You wake up convincing yourself to be the first and only person to have lost a cup final and truly know the ache involved. Once the thaw sets in, you get a grip and remember you’ve been around this dark place a few times before

La Rochelle players dejected after last weekend’s Champions Cup defeat to Tolulouse. Ronan O’Gara feels La Rochelee were refereed as a ‘small team’. Picture: Inpho/James Crombie

Didn't even beat the dawn home Sunday morning. We landed back in La Rochelle in the pouring rain before 2am to be uplifted by the heart-warming sight of 500 drowned team supporters cheering us off the flight. After a few diversions, we rolled home around six with Sunday hurt the only certainty.

And waves of nauseous self-pity.