Ronan O'Gara: Beating Leinster was a victory for character and willpower. We need our best rugby to win Top 14
La Rochelle Head Coach Ronan O'Gara
La Rochelle’s season ‘starts on Saturday’, when they meet Bordeaux in the second semi-final of the Top 14, coach Ronan O’Gara has insisted as he targets a first Bouclier de Brennus for his side to sit alongside their second Champions Cup.
And he promised a much-improved performance against Bordeaux in northern Spain from the one that won them a second European title in as many seasons in Dublin.
“I can't underestimate what the players have done … I'm very, very proud,” he told France's Midi Olympique. “But now it's time for the next job. In France, the Bouclier de Brennus is more important than the Champions Cup.”
With a direct pass to Saturday’s Top 14 semi-final already in the bag, O’Gara could rest his Dublin heroes for La Rochelle’s final regular-season match seven days later. They were also able to sit back and watch the two qualifying round play-offs last weekend before heading to San Sebastian, rested and ready to go again.
“We're where we wanted to be, but that doesn't matter,” O’Gara - who won the Top 14 as a coach with Racing 92 in 2016 - told the newspaper. “The season starts on Saturday. We've had a good rest, we've celebrated our second star: everything is set up [for us] to perform well.”
La Rochelle, promoted to the Top 14 in 2014, have yet to win French club rugby’s biggest domestic prize. They reached the final in 2021, when they lost 18-8 to Toulouse, who had already beaten them in that year’s Champions Cup final.
If they make it past Bordeaux on Saturday, they could meet Ugo Mola’s side in the final again. Toulouse face Racing 92 at Stadio d'Anoeta on Friday night.
Assistant coach Sebastien Boboul let slip this week La Rochelle’s second Champions Cup trophy had already been put in the trophy cabinet, out of sight and out of mind.
O’Gara, however, said that the squad had learned plenty from the final in Dublin, in which he said his Top 14 side had been ‘very average’.
“I’ve watched the match three times,” he said. “Leinster’s backs were only able to make 11 passes in the whole match. That’s a crazy statistic. They couldn’t get out of their camp because I think their brains had frozen from the pressure we put on.
“What disappointed me - maybe that’s not the right word - is that we weren’t able to score more. [In the semi-final against Exeter] we should have scored 70 points. How many chances did we leave out at the Aviva?”
He said his players were ‘a little shocked’ to see their individual and collective performances when they watched the final back with the coaches. “When you look at Leinster’s three tries, they were well played but we defended poorly. That’s not us.” But, he added, the room for improvement did not detract from what his side had done. “My players are European champions. I would simply like to show them that they have a huge margin for improvement. I didn’t need to say anything. The staff showed them the images, the players saw for themselves.
“It may seem strange to tell them, after watching the tape, that I’m a little disappointed. I can’t be. They gave it their all. I’m so proud of them, like you can’t imagine, because [the final] was in Dublin. But we have never won the French championship. Now is the time to fix that.
“Dublin was a huge victory for character; for willpower; for mental strength. Now, rugby will happen.”
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