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Ronan O'Gara will not be replacing Eddie Jones as England coach
Ronan O’Gara has been ruled out of the race to succeed Eddie Jones as England coach as he is poised to sign a lengthy contract extension that will keep him in charge at La Rochelle. It had been reported last week that the Irishman was on a three-strong RFU shortlist – along with Scott Robertson and Steve Borthwick – to succeed Jones after the 2023 World Cup in France.
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However, that scenario has now radically changed if a French media report is on the money, as O’Gara is instead set to commit to his Top 14 club for an additional three seasons rather than keep his name in the hat to fill the upcoming England vacancy.
O’Gara had spoken on a number of occasions during 2022 about his desire to be considered for the England job and he even revealed last week that he had spoken to a number of people about the position. However, he also added that he was due to hold contract talks with La Rochelle even though he had just received a ten-game matchday ban and a hefty fine from the Top 14 following his latest referee altercation.
Those talks must have gone exceptionally well as rugbyrama.fr are now reporting that O’Gara, whose existing La Rochelle deal expires in the summer of 2024, will soon extend through to the summer of 2027, a decision that would mean he wouldn’t be a Test coaching option again until after that year’s World Cup in Australia.
O’Gara said last week about the speculation linking him to England: “Well I don’t know about a shortlist, but I have spoken to a few people. I suppose it’s a possibility but I don’t know where I am in the pecking order.
? Information @midi_olympique ?
Alors qu'il est courtisé par plusieurs grandes nations du rugby, Ronan O’Gara devrait très prochainement prolonger son contrat avec le club maritime.Plus d'informations > https://t.co/Fk975vOz9i pic.twitter.com/o4re67335V
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) November 30, 2022
“You want to probably have a very, very good reason to leave. I don’t have that. I’m obviously in decision mode between now and Christmas because that is what happens with coaches. They always want to be done six months before the last year of contracts. That would be next season, I would be in my last year of my contract here, so I have to decide if I want to stick to club rugby or if there are options to go to the Test game.”
According to rugbyrama.fr, that decision has now been taken and O’Gara will remain at La Rochelle for the foreseeable future. “Courted by several major rugby nations, Ronan O’Gara, who arrived in La Rochelle in the summer of 2019, should very soon extend his contract for another three years with the maritime club,” read the French media report.
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“Given the recent results of Stade Rochelais in the European Cup, this is excellent news for Vincent Merling’s club… The least we can say is that Ronan O’Gara (45 years old, 128 caps) is a courted man: French champion with Racing 92 in the spring of 2016, winner of Super Rugby with the Crusaders two years later, and last May the former Irish out-half became a European champion with Stade Rochelais.
“Since then, his CV has left no one indifferent… and especially not the great nations of this game. England, who are looking for a successor to Eddie Jones, for example recently made eyes at ROG and asked about it, he told the British media: ‘Of course, I would be interested in such a post. It would be huge’.
“But according to our information, the native of Cork is about to take a completely different path. The leaders of Stade Rochelais are firmly determined to keep their manager who has been at the club since 2019 and whose technical qualities are unanimously praised by the players.
“For his part, Ronan O’Gara would not be insensitive to repeated visits from Vincent Merling, Stade Rochelais’ president, and Pierre Venayre, the club’s general manager. Therefore, will the Munsterman extend his contract in Charente-Maritime and turn his back on the sirens of the international circuit?
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“This is what is taking shape at the moment. A three-year contract, which would keep the Irish coach until the 2027 World Cup, is simply awaiting the signature of the person concerned. Case closed, it seems…”
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
1 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
23 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
6 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to comments