O'Gara: '10-15 bottles of beer after the game is thing of the past'

La Rochelle boss Ronan O’Gara has shared his thoughts on this week’s dismissal of the sexual assault case against his back-rower Oscar Jegou in Argentina. The 21-year-old and French teammate Hugo Auradou were arrested in the aftermath of their July 6 Test debuts against the Pumas in Mendoza.

Initially detained in custody, they were placed under house arrest before their mid-August release was followed by their return to France in early September. The pair are now available for international selection with their country for the 2025 Guinness Six Nations after the alleged rape case against them was dismissed.

Jegou made his return to play for La Rochelle on November 2 and speaking ahead of Saturday night’s round two Investec Champions Cup match at home to Bristol Bears, O’Gara shed light on his young player’s frame of mind following the midweek judicial decision in Argentina.

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Speaking with French media, the director of rugby said: “It’s the best we could have hoped for, the dismissal, the two players cleared. It’s good for Oscar’s conscience because there is no ‘yes but maybe’.

“Since the beginning, he has not shown anything. He is a professional, he has always been focused on rugby. I do not know how he experiences these moments. I imagine it is very difficult.

“As a coach, I am proud of him but I always keep an eye on him. I am hyper vigilant because he is a child, he is very young, he needs to be protected, needs to learn, needs to be educated like the others.

“Who knows how he can react in six months, if he cannot fall into a depressive state because of these emotions? It can happen to anyone. That is why I insist on the importance of talking.”

Speaking in a week where former Grenoble players are being tried in Bordeaux in a separate sexual assault case, O’Gara suggested rugby players in general must become better educated about the real world.

“I have just read the requisitions in the Bordeaux trial. I don’t know what to say except that it is unbelievable and that it happened in rugby. I am shocked. We cannot underestimate the problem of education.

“When I see all these people destroyed, first and foremost the victim, the families, it is terrible. We must educate our players because that is the real world.”

His solution? A change in attitude and awareness. “The world has changed. We have to adapt. After the win in Bath, it was Coke and a small beer maybe. I don’t know if a bottle of beer is better than a bottle of Coke nutritionally. But 10-15 bottles of beer after the game is a thing of the past.

“We have to control what happens after the game, even if we are not with the players 24/7. There are traps, threats everywhere. The players have to accept that and be able to live together, to have fun without alcohol.”