‘F***’ – Ronan O’Gara explains the 23-word media briefing where he walked out on French reporters
La Rochelle boss Ronan O'Gara was in no mood for talking on Thursday
Ronan O’Gara has explained his fleeting 23-word media briefing on Thursday before he walked out on reporters.
Hurting from La Rochelle’s recent Investec Champions Cup round of 16 elimination at home to Munster, the French club boss was due to set the scene ahead of his team’s Top 14 match this Saturday against Bayonne.
However, instead of being his usual talkative self, the Irishman abruptly exited after a 23-word statement on a match that his struggling 10th-place team need to win to keep alive their season.
Didn’t go there with the intention of cutting things short
The back-to-back 2022 and 2023 European champions have won just eight of their 20 league matches so far this term and while they are just four points behind the sixth-place Clermont, who occupy the last qualifying place for the play-off with six rounds of matches remaining, O’Gara’s walk-out laid bare his frustrations over his team’s inconsistency.
“I’m going to be brief today. I’d like to focus on the match. I don’t have a specific message. See you on Saturday,” he said before heading for the exit.
O’Gara has since explained what happened, writing on Friday in his latest Irish Examiner newspaper column: “I didn’t go there with the intention of cutting things short. I just know that since January, we have talked a lot and done everything. Bayonne is coming on Saturday and it’s time to get down to business.”
He added: “When you are on a roll, you don’t need to do any math. It is so simple and everything just flows. We probably don’t realise a lot of things, how could it be otherwise? We are on a roll. Today? F***, what I wouldn’t give for just one win. Just one!
“Since the week of the Munster match, I have been telling myself that we have to win against Bayonne. That’s all. There aren’t six games left, there is one left.”
