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La Rochelle boss Ronan O'Gara booed at Aviva Stadium
By Ian Cameron
Once hailed as a hero at Lansdowne Road, Ronan O’Gara faced a harsh reception during his side’s quarterfinal loss in the Investec Champions Cup at Aviva Stadium.
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Every time O’Gara was shown on the big screen, boos echoed around a soldout Aviva Stadium, marking a stark shift from his celebrated past as a once-celebrated Ireland flyhalf.
With off-field dramas in last year’s Champions Cup final between O’Gara and a number of Leinster players and staff, it was hardly surprising that the Cork native was very much the pantomime villain for a boisterous Leinster crowd, who had packed HQ to capacity.
Booing aside, it would prove a day to forget for O’Gara, whose side ultimately lost convincingly 40-13 to a pumped-up Leinster team, seemingly hell-bent on battering their opposition. The home side delivered a convincing victory to exorcise the ghosts of two Champions Cup final defeats to the same side.
“It’s clear to anyone with a bit of cop on that the team in blue were the better side,” said O’Gara in the post-match press conference. “The better team won.”
Although O’Gara alluded to his side being ‘away for 13 days’, he refused to use it as an excuse.
Indeed O’Gara’s decision to bring his side to Cork in the days preceding this evening’s hammering – heralded as a masterstroke of pre-match gamesmanship by some – now looks, if anything, a little questionable. Even before the game the former Munster playmaker defended claims it was a ‘holiday’, but either way it doesn’t look so smart after what was a one-sided battering to their bitter rivals.
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And there wasn’t much love for O’Gara on social media either.
One poster on X alluded to controversial comments O’Gara made nine years ago (branded misogynistic my some) which have resurfaced this week in the lead-up to the fixture: “Now as a woman I may not truly understand this rugby score, it being so complex, but it seems to my simple mind that Leinster thrashed Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle.”
Another user took the opportunity to take a pop at the Munster legend, who has been rightly lauded for coaching feats at La Rochelle to date. “The best thing about this Leinster win today is maybe the Irish media will stop treating Ronan O’Gara as some sort of coaching demigod who everything he does is a genius move.”
Another claimed O’Gara needed to learn from the defeat. “This game is emblematic of La Rochelle this season. There’s been some good and a lot of bad. I hope Ronan O’Gara shows some maturity and takes this loss on the chin. He likes to act like a petulant child when he doesn’t get his way.”
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It’s very self evident how much you care. The unarguable facts are also beyond dispute: the fans of one team, two sets of circumstances that have poor behaviour connected to Leinster in common and two very different responses from those same fans to that poor behaviour. Furthermore it’s crystal clear that the plain truth around those different reactions has touched a very raw nerve for you. Your issue, not mine.
As for Leinster hating, if your view of that is driven by a simple statement of truth, then you’ve got even more issues to work through…
You are one funny duck Ed. What crude insults would that be exactly? Is it the “D” for delusional that you think is crude? I would say it’s rather apt but frankly I don’t care too much about your opinion one way or another. And like I said, I’m sure you’re not as silly as you make yourself out to be and you know very well that this has more to do with your own hatred towards Leinster than anything else. Anyway, I have better things to do with my time Ed. You knock yourself out with your Leinster supporter hating. I’m sure it gives you some gratification
How to run up the white flag without intending to! Classic sign of argument lost when the crude insults begin to appear…
The fact is they were facing at least 4 consecutive away games. But Leinster have played at least three consecutive home games. Also the away games were England, Cape Town, Dublin, etc which for even the best they get worn down. Ronan O’ Gara managed to beat Leinster in two finals. It seems yet again Leinster haven't managed to oppose that. Yes they beat La Rochelle in a pool game earlier this season and now in the Quarter Final but one pool game and one QF do not equal two consecutive Finals. So Leinster are still short.
Let me tell you though, Ronan O’ Gara was playing a two time World Cup winning coach and now he is going to go back to the drawing board and figure out Leinster and beat them in next season’s final.
That's on La Rochelle for doing poorly in the group stages. The reward for top seeds has always been home advantage nothing new here
Interesting to hear comments slating O’GARA behaviour last year. Just as well Leinster won, so no need for JS to reprise his role as referee ‘liaison’ manager post match, on the pitch, son in hand…
How is JS relevant to this conversation? It's ROGs comments after winning the game that hasn't say well with Leinster. To be a bad loser is regrettable but understandable. To be a bad winner is unforgivable. Don't kick someone when they're down and expect no bad blood
Understandably so. The D4 thickos would have no idea who he was since they didn’t know rugby even existed before May 2009
I see you’ve sunk to a new level of incoherence , Naaige. Stay off the chems, boy.
Leinster is made up of 12 counties, so its 12 county thickos for you Dan.
Playing mind games before a game is OK, but to go out in the media and attack the opposition AFTER winning like ROG did after last year’s final isn’t.
A bad looser can be excused but being a bad winner is inexcusable
Unfortunately, rugby seems to have attracted a nasty element in the past few years. I, for one, would like to apologise to Rog for the poor treatment he received. Let’s keep rugby clean.
Rugby is far from clean, when you read what some tiny little men can writte about a man…
If O’Gara behaves like Eddie Jones and openly shows his hatred of Dubliners he deserves everything he gets. He was humiliated yesterday and he deserved every second of it. The crowd were showing their dislike of his ugly and unacceptable comments. Whats clear is that only ever O’Gara played for himself not for Ireland.
I don't think it was nasty. It was in response to the poor sportsmanship ROG showed after the final last year.
Pretty sick to see Ronan O Gara an Irish legend booed booed by so called Irish rugby supporters.
He deserved it. You don’t say Lansdowne is not your home and expect to get away with it. Let him stew in his parochial juices. He should never be considered for managing Ireland. He is a little Corkonian version of Eddie Jones.
After his behavior after last year's final I'm not surprised
Pretty sick to see Irish rugby supporters praying for current Irish legends to lose to a foreign wallet masquerading as a rugby team….
Why do websites publish random tweets from fans as if they're newsworthy?
Just my opinion, not necessarily newsworthy. Do you have an opinion on this article or do you just ‘disagree’ with opinion in an elaborate way?
What does he expect!?! He was giving it large all week. I accept that he’s proud of his roots and they are rival to Leinster. He shows little respect, which is beyond a healthy rivalry. He will care little for the booing, but he got spanked today. LR are a great team, but am deloighted. However, I hope Leinster do not see this as mission accomplished. A certain Msr Dupont will have a say.
Hoodoo dead!! Deloighted, Lonster Lionel