Ian Madigan: I can't see Ronan O'Gara wearing Leinster blue

The former Leinster out-half believes Jacques Nienaber and Joe Schmidt could be among the contenders to succeed Leo Cullen

Pictured is Aer Lingus College Football Classic ambassador Ian Madigan ahead of this year's game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the UNC Tar Heels, taking place at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 29 August 2026. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Ian Madigan does not see Ronan O’Gara succeeding his old boss Leo Cullen at Leinster when the head coach steps down at the end of the coming season but the former Ireland fly-half does not rule out a number of other very big names lining up for the role.

Cullen, who first captained Leinster to three European Cups from the second row and then coached them to a fourth Champions Cup star as the boss in 2018, has announced he will step down as head coach at the end of the 2026-27 campaign after a dozen years at the helm in which he also delivered six United Rugby Championship titles.

La Rochelle head coach O’Gara, who engineered back-to-back Champions Cup successes for the French Top 14 club in 2022 and '23, was instantly linked with the upcoming vacancy. His Munster roots and legendary status as a double Heineken Cup-winning number 10 with his home province are, however, seen by Madigan as a barrier to the Corkman succeeding Cullen.

Instead, the ex-Leinster, Bristol and Ulster fly-half suggested some intriguing possibilities for one of the most sought-after positions in club rugby, including former Leinster, Ireland and Australia head coach Joe Schmidt, who has just agreed to join Ulster as a “Coach Development Advisor”.

“It's hard to start listing off names because you're always going to leave someone out but there are interesting ones that are a possibility but it's difficult to call a year out,” Madigan said on Wednesday in his role as ambassador for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium on August 29.

“Obviously (former Crusaders and All Blacks boss) Scott Robertson came up, it's hard to know how much coaching he would do if he came in. Would he come into the director of rugby role and have the coaches reporting up to him?

“With the likes of (current Leinster senior coach) Jacques Nienaber, could Jacques step up into that director of rugby role or from his standpoint would he rather continue coaching or would he be more a coach that heads up the team? It's hard to see what Leinster will do from that kind of organisational standpoint.

“Could you have the likes of Joe Schmidt coming back in and heading it up and having the other coaches reporting up to him?” 

Madigan believes Cullen’s final season in charge, as Leinster defend their URC crown and bid to add a long-awaited fifth European star to their jersey after five Champions Cup final defeats since their 2018 victory, could highlight the specific areas the incoming boss will need to address and thereby determine the province’s choice of successor or successors.

“I think large parts of that will be dictated as this season plays out because if, for example, we're at the midpoint of the season and the attack isn't firing or it is firing or the defence isn't firing and vice versa, that's where those decisions can look very different because you might not necessarily be just looking for one person to come in at the top.

“You could be looking for a multiple coaches or if things are going really well you could be looking to elevate one of the current coaches and I think that the best candidates for that is probably Jacques from within the Leinster team.

“And then tied in with that, you're going to the end of a World Cup cycle and could one of the coaches involved with the Irish set-up look at the Leinster job and see it as an opportunity?

“Obviously the likes of (Simon) Easterby's headed up teams and Johnny Sexton's in there now. I think Paul O'Connell's already ruled himself out but would certainly have head coaching capabilities.

“And then the likes of Ronan O'Gara who's obviously over in La Rochelle, could he potentially come back? I personally don't see that happening. He’s a fantastic coach but I just don’t think from knowing Rog and how much he loves that rivalry and competitiveness, I'm not too sure if he'd come back and be wearing the blue of Leinster.”