Ronan O’Gara: Leinster a ‘wake-up call’ for ‘suffering’ La Rochelle side ‘frozen by my demands’
Head coach Ronan O'Gara and Leinster taking on La Rochelle in the Champions Cup.
Ronan O’Gara has ominously stated that La Rochelle are “suffering” ahead of their huge Champions Cup clash against Irish giants Leinster this weekend.
Despite winning the competition over successive years in 2022 and 2023, the French outfit have experienced a downturn in form this season.
That was evidenced by their disappointing performance against Toulouse in the Top 14 on Saturday.
Although any win versus Les Rouge et Noir would usually be cherished, La Rochelle’s 22-19 triumph came against a very young side.
Faltered against Toulouse youngsters
Ugo Mola decided to rest his best players ahead of their Champions Cup tie with the Sharks, but O’Gara’s fully-loaded team made heavy weather of the contest.
“We need to change something. If I knew what, I would have done it already. We are suffering, our game is suffering. But it can change,” he told reporters in France.
“Everyone is negative, but it happens because success creates a lot of problems. And success is really in the past.
“We must stop talking about success as real competitors stay united and work harder. And that’s my goal. I’m the leader and we will start that on Monday, Tuesday.”
O’Gara was asked about the strength of his squad and the depth they have, but the La Rochelle boss has taken responsibility for their issues.
“The weak men, one or two of them, have already gone,” he said.
“I think I can count on more than 35 [players]. You didn’t see it, I didn’t see it [against Toulouse], but they haven’t become bad players in three or six months.
“I think I’m more responsible than them, that’s the truth.
“It’s true that I froze out a lot of players not capable of managing the pressure put on them.
“It’s a good lesson for me. I have to change my management a little and we have to change the spirit a little and I hope that it will give something more positive.
“Leinster arrives on Sunday. Maybe it is the wake-up call that we need.”
Glass half empty
La Rochelle are still in a reasonable position in the Top 14 as they reside in sixth position, while they have claimed successive victories in the Champions Cup.
They will seek to make it three in a row on Sunday but they face a daunting task against Leinster and, judging by O’Gara’s ominous tone, it could be long 80 minutes for the Frenchmen.
“I’m not going to lose faith in my players. It’s a difficult time, but in English, we say ‘when it rains, it pours’. That’s how it is at the moment,” he said.
“Since my time at the Crusaders, I see the glass as half full. But at the moment, everyone, and me too in recent months, has seen the team as half empty. And that’s not going to change like that.
“There are so many good players who, at the moment, are not expressing themselves. I said that some are ‘frozen’ by my demands, but that will free itself up very soon.”
