Ronan O’Gara urges La Rochelle to regroup after a narrow win over Toulouse, preparing to host unbeaten Leinster in a high-stakes Champions Cup clash.
La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara believes his club’s 22-19 Top 14 triumph over a young Toulouse team on Saturday should act as a “wake-up call” ahead of a key Investec Champions Cup match against Leinster this weekend.
The encounter at Stade Marcel Deflandre, La Rochelle’s 100th consecutive sellout, was anything but plain sailing for the reigning Champions Cup winners.
Fly-half Antoine Hastoy, who replaced Ihaia West at halftime, clinched the victory with a last-ditch penalty, finishing off a gritty, error-filled effort.
Despite the victory, O’Gara was harsh in his post-game evaluation.
“We’ll take the four points, but right now, it feels like a defeat,” he told me. “We need to change something—if I knew what, I’d have done it already.”
La Rochelle now meets a familiar foe, Leinster, which it defeated in back-to-back Champions Cup finals in 2022 and 2023.
While Leo Cullen’s team has a perfect record this season, with 11 victories in all competitions, La Rochelle has been less steady, finishing sixth in the Top 14 with eight wins and six losses. Despite this, O’Gara’s men lead Pool 2 of the Champions Cup after defeating Bath and Bristol before Christmas.
The Irishman admitted that recent success has presented problems, notably in maintaining high standards while avoiding a sour climate.
“Success is in the past,” he remarked. “We need to stop talking about it. “Real competitors band together and work harder.”
O’Gara also reflected on his coaching style, noting that his high expectations may have suffocated some players.
“High standards can be confused with negativity,” he said. “I’ve ‘frozen’ several players due to the pressure I’ve put them under. It’s a valuable lesson for me—I need to alter my management, and we need to change our thinking.”
Hastoy’s composed match-winning penalty was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing effort.
“I’m very happy for Antoine,” O’Gara added. “I’ve been quite demanding of him, and I nearly broke him. “But he returned stronger.”
He thinks Hastoy’s tenacity will inspire the rest of the team as they prepare for Leinster’s arrival.
“It’s a difficult time, but we need to change the atmosphere,” O’Gara said. “The players and I need to give more. If we want to win the Champions Cup year after year, we must work harder and forget the past. “It is time to turn the wheel.”
With Leinster coming off an unbeaten run, La Rochelle’s commitment will be challenged like never before.
Sunday’s game marks an opportunity for O’Gara to demonstrate his ability to turn around what appears to be a deteriorating squad.
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