in La Rochelle, is O'Gara too harsh with his players?

In just a few years, Ronan O'Gara has quickly made a name for himself on the oval planet. The former successful fly-half with Munster and the XV du Trèfle switched to the role of renowned technician, making Stade Rochelais one of the strongholds of French and European rugby, lifting the Champions Cup twice. An extreme perfectionist, the Irishman is also known for his unwavering, uncompromising character.

If he has succeeded in unwinding the Maritimes by moving them into the league of the (very) big boys, he does not spare them when he does not feel a total investment. With each guilty slack, each poor performance, the La Rochelle manager climbs into the towers and turns on his players.

New illustration, last weekend, after the defeat conceded on the lawn of Aimé-Giral against Perpignan (21-13), with a team certainly reshuffled. “A lot of average players are international, I've always said it, for ten years. If they play at Stade Rochelais, there are certain standards to have. At the moment, some are not up to par. There are others – like “Judi” (Judicaël Cancoriet ), “Lep's” (Levani Bottle ), “Jo” (Jonathan Danty ) – who gave everything for the club and I am very proud of them. But the gap in the group is too big. Some respond but the great players are capable of performing only at the Stade de France or in training. he snapped after the match.

In my culture, motivation comes from within yourself. But with some, I have to yell more during the week

Ronan O'Gara

Before receiving the Toulouse ogre on Saturday (9:05 p.m.) at Marcel-Deflandre, nothing alarming mathematically, the Maritimes are sixth, but it is their inconsistency which worries. After three remarkable seasons with five finals contested out of six possible, La Rochelle marked time last year, failing to reach the bottom step of the Top 14 and the Champions Cup.

Many coaches (Christophe Urios or Pierre Mignoni in particular) do not hesitate to pique the pride of their troops to revive them. Ronan O'Gara – who is known for protecting his players, as he recently did with Oscar Jégou – does not hesitate to regularly use this lever in front of the press.

After the setback conceded at home against promoted Vannes (14-23), “ROG” confided: “In my culture, motivation comes from within yourself. But with some, I have to yell more during the week.” While regularly making his own mea culpa. “What disappoints me the most is the content, it’s a total lack of precision. We didn't show anything in front of our loyal supporters. The main culprit is me. It’s a big slap in the face.” After the setback against Usap, he also spoke about his “responsibility” : “I have to accept being criticized.”

Ronan O'Gara already had a strong character when he was a player (best director in the history of the European Cup (1,365 points) and second in the Six Nations Tournament with 557 points), he has not changed. It boils constantly. You only have to see him in the stands when he follows his team's match: he shouts, vociferates, loses his temper, in the language of Shakespeare. He experiences things with rage and determination. When explaining how he managed to uninhibit his players, he explained: “I don't know if 'liberating' the players is the right word. I would say more concentrate or determine.” Transmit your extreme demands.

Last May, Stade Rochelais lost at Chaban-Delmas against UBB (34-14). Here again, he had distributed the good points: “A lot of players had a good game tonight. We are happy with certain players. Before pointing the finger at the bad students. “We are penalized by certain players this evening who carry crucial responsibilities in this team, I am not going to give their names”he snapped.

Maybe it was a way of poking us. He released it like that, because it hits him in the gut

Judicaël Cancoriet

Is this method the right one? In any case, it has allowed Stade Rochelais to establish itself among the clubs that count. Laurent Labit, who knows “ROG” well having put his foot in the stirrup as an assistant at Racing 92, told us that the Irishman has put water in his wine, learned to soften his methods. And to say with a smile: “On human management, it was a little difficult for him at the beginning. Sometimes, he was a little “cash” with the players during the matches…”

Last season, one of his media outings caused a stir. Following a defeat against Lyon, he said: “I think they looked more at real estate in La Rochelle and in the Ile de Ré than at training. When you do that, why be disappointed. It questions what we want in life: to be rich with apartments, houses or rich with medals? How did his players react then?

“We did not focus on his statements, we did not talk about it again. Maybe it was a way to prick us, had read between the lines Judicaël Cancoriet. He released it like that, because it hits him in the gut. It’s a way of saying that he didn’t recognize his team.” And the South African Raymond Rhule joked about it: “I don’t have the money for Île de Ré, it’s too expensive!” Maritimers who quickly understood that the extreme demands of their coach are there to transcend them.