sport news CHRIS FOY: Ronan O'Gara inspires French Revolution in La Rochelle's Heineken ... trends now
Ronan O'Gara predicted there would be celebratory ‘carnage’ in La Rochelle and, sure enough, there have been scenes of merry mayhem in the packed streets around the old port.
Victory over Leinster in the Heineken Champions Cup final delivered a small-town European triumph savoured far beyond France’s Atlantic coast.
It is a wonder there were any locals left to start the party, given that La Rochelle’s population is just 75,000 and around a third of them were at Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
Ronan O'Gara won the Heineken Champions Cup after three years in his first head coach role
It is unquestionably good for the game that there is a new conquering force in a region where rugby is still establishing a professional presence. What O’Gara’s team did should give hope to other ambitious clubs to shoot for the stars.
The Irishman revealed how he had to persuade his squad that this feat was possible. ‘This was a long way off when I first joined the club,’ he said. ‘The boys were a bit shocked how much I loved this competition.
‘They weren’t used to the Champions Cup. They didn’t play any games in it before 24 months ago. It was something new to them. I said we have to win our home games and our away games, and they said, “Coach, it’s not possible”.
'But once we got some momentum, they could see what this crazy Irishman was taking about!’
O'Gara's La Rochelle won the Heineken Champions Cup, having finished runners-up last year
La Rochelle are a beacon of upward mobility — as are Lyon, who won the Challenge Cup on Friday night. Both teams are relative newcomers to the Top 14 league. They are shaking up the established order in Gallic rugby. Exeter enjoyed a similar rise but they may be the last to do it on this side of the Channel.
Here, ambition is blocked, rather than encouraged. Narrow-minded thinking prevails.
Meanwhile, the game is booming in France. Their teams are dominant at Test and club level. Next year they will host the World Cup — brilliantly, no doubt. Just imagine how powerful and imperious the
