Stade Rochelais. "Withdrawing is an option": Ronan O'Gara leaves the door open before heading to Toulon

“It’s a disaster because we have to go to Toulon again, we’re the ones being punished, and I don’t know why there wasn’t a pitch available a few weeks ago to play the next day. It’s not our responsibility. I’m going to ask the players when I get back to the locker room,” the coach said after the bonus-point victory against Racing (33-6). “We have one less week of vacation, and that’s not fair. It might be better to accept the defeat and take a week off like everyone else. Forfeiting is an option; we’re the ones who have to make all the sacrifices.”

The Irish manager of Stade Rochelais is no stranger to public relations, and his recent outburst proves it. Before a Champions Cup semi-final against Racing 92 in 2022, he railed against the match being moved to Lens, a move that garnered significant media attention. Before the final against Leinster, he suggested playing Tawera Kerr-Barlow with a glove, and the same thing happened again.