Ronan O’Gara a post-game no-show, leaving Leinster to talk up ‘strong characteristics’ and ‘two great stories’
Leo Culle congratulates Joe McCarthy after Leinster's Investec Champions Cup win over Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle (Photos by INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
Two Irishmen, two very contrasting post-game reactions in Dublin on Saturday night. Whereas Leinster’s Leo Cullen turned up in the bowels of Aviva Stadium to talk glowingly to the media about “a far from perfect performance”, Ronan O’Gara was a no-show when it came to La Rochelle’s reaction to their last-gasp 25-24 Investec Champions Cup loss.
It was unusual. O’Gara is the sort of candid bloke who rarely skips an opportunity to say his piece – and there was so much to be proud about his team following a display where there would have been few if any complaints from home fans had they held onto the 24-22 lead fashioned through Nolann le Garrec’s conversion of Ihaia West’s 76th minute try.
Rather than make his feelings known about an epic duel that unfolded in front of an attendance of 38,044, O’Gara instead sent one of his assistants in to tick the EPCR box that a senior coach must be available for interview in a match’s aftermath.
How very un-ROG like. Then again, maybe the recent emergence of disparaging comments he made about some Leinster fans in an Irish rugby book convinced him to finally put a Brown Thomas sock in it and say nothing at all.
“The most important bit…”
Whatever the reason, it left the stage clear for Cullen to wallow in the win and give thanks to the boot of Harry Byrne, whose game-ending kick went between the uprights to secure the one-point victory.
Twelve months ago, the Leinster out-half had nipped across the Irish Sea on loan at Bristol. Now he was basking in the limelight of the sort of last-gasp heroics that O’Gara used to serve up during pomp and glory days at the Munster No.10.
“Whatever the team needs is the most important bit,” enthused Cullen. “Harry stepped in there with 20 minutes to go and gets that kick at the end, so really positive. That’s the thing about the group – everyone is just mucking in together and doing what is required to get a positive outcome.
“That’s the pleasing part. They are a great group at the moment. They are working hard for each other… But Harry did great today, so fair play to him.”
Byrne wasn’t alone. In two-try winger Josh Kenny and sub loosehead Jerry Cahir, who played most of the second half, Leinster had two grassroots players who only recently contracted with the club from All-Ireland League level.
“Amazing for JJ, where he has come from since pre-season when he came in on a trial. He has been outstanding. An amazing role model for young academy players and players who are in the system just to stick at it.
“He finished his two tries incredibly well, and another role model was Jerry Cahir, who has been phenomenal as well. He got called in for an A game last year and to see him come on, up against (Uini) Atonio first and (Aleksandre) Kuntelia Kunaatali later on. Two great stories for those lads.”
Indeed. A story that can’t be written just yet is that Leinster are definitely back. They aren’t. Saturday was their eighth win on the bounce, but they are still scratching around to root out the display where it all eventually clicks.
“We just dug in there at various stages of the game, kept fighting and eventually took an opportunity at the end… It was far from a perfect performance… but it’s pleasing that we are finding a way and we are showing strong characteristics. It’s not necessarily us imposing our game; it’s us finding a way, which is good.
“I don’t get too bogged down, really. It’s just making sure we are training with the right intent, pitching up the right characteristics. They’re showing the required character to be successful, which is probably the big thing. We have had to deal with plenty of disruptions and all the rest of it, it’s a squad effort to get to this point.
“The group are building that cohesiveness together, that collective understanding of what we are trying to do. There is never really any endpoint to that, but the main thing is the right characteristics. That is what you want to see and that is what the fans want to see ultimately.”
Why? “Listen, we need to produce what the fans want, which is showing the right characteristics. We scored eight tries and 52 points last week (against Connacht in the URC), which is great because we are scoring lots of tries.
“But if you asked the fans which they would prefer, four tries today and that type of game where it is a bit of tit for tat and the going gets tough and guys are scrambling back, which do they honestly want to see and it’s the latter, they want to see that. Ultimately, you want to produce for the people who love watching the team. We just need to keep going after that.
“The beauty of this game was two teams going at it in the right manner. It’s always on the edge, but both teams have the positive mindset to play.
“Some great attacking rugby from both teams. Some great scramble from both teams, and it was a game that could have gone either way, so delighted we came out on top, but we need to turn the page quickly.”
Next up is Bayonne away next Saturday for the knockout stage-qualified Leinster, as they look to try and clinch top spot in Pool 3. For the silenced O’Gara, a different task awaits… beating Harlequins to ensure they make it to the round of 16 way down the seedings.