Ronan O'Gara: A new start, but any other coach would have been sacked by now

This is my fifth season in charge, and I’m fairly sure some lads are tired of hearing my voice. That’s fine, I’m working on that. So many players did good things last season but what kills any group is lots of injuries and the consequences of that - no real competition for places.

NEW SEASON: Ronan O'Gara is set for a new season after gaining some new perspective across multiple sports in Australia. Pic: ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP

FEEL the scab, feel the need to squeeze out the puss, to feel better for the healing process being underway. That’s a good sense of how much we are looking forward to the first game of the new Top 14 season for La Rochelle in Bordeaux on Saturday night.

Pre-season has been seven weeks long and beneficial. It wasn’t meant to be that way. Missing out of the play-offs for the first time gave us a longer summer and the headspace to recalibrate and re-set.