Updated at 4.15pm
RONAN O’GARA HAS once again reiterated his desire to coach Munster at some point in the future, but says returning to Thomond Park to work with players he shared a dressing room with isn’t appealing.
The former Ireland out-half has moved to clarify quotes he gave to reporters at a Crusaders media day earlier, insisting that he has not closed the door on the possibility of returning to his home province.
“Coaching the players I played with, for me, is not a good idea but coaching Munster when those players are gone is something that hugely interests me,” he told The42.
“If that opportunity didn’t arrive, it wouldn’t bother me but I would love to coach Munster.”
O’Gara has recently arrived in New Zealand where he has taken up an assistant coach role with the Super Rugby champions after beginning his coaching career with Racing 92.
The Cork native said the move to Christchurch to join Scott Roberston’s coaching team would allow him to ’enrich his rugby knowledge and improve his training methods’, with O’Gara consistently linked with the head job at Munster since his retirement as a player.
The 40-year-old was part of Joe Schmidt’s coaching ticket for Ireland’s summer tour to USA and Japan last June and is certainly highly-regarded, with several players since speaking of the impact he had on the group in a small space of time.
Previous comments appeared to suggest he was not interested in a return to Thomond Park, but O’Gara has once again made no secret of his desire to coach Munster at some stage in the future.
“I enjoyed playing in Munster but I don’t think coaching the players you played with is a good idea. I didn’t want that so there’s not a big draw to ever go back there,” O’Gara told the New Zealand media.
“If the opportunity with Ireland presents itself it’s a different decision. At the minute I’m at a massive club with a big responsibility and something that really interests me.
“I enjoy the day-to-day coaching and interaction with the players and international rugby is very different. You need to be hugely experienced to do that and I’m not that.”
O’Gara was granted an early release from his contract with Top 14 side Racing to take up the opportunity in New Zealand, and he’s relishing the challenge with the Super Rugby season getting underway at the end of February.
“I wanted to come down here because I feel it’s one of the best rugby clubs in the world,” he continued.
“I’ve always admired the Crusaders. They’re a club I’ve followed since I was a kid. I’ve watched their campaigns and never thought I’d end up here this soon.
“New Zealand is the best in the world at rugby so you need to get in here to test yourself against the best to be seen as a credible coach. That’s essentially what I want to do here. I like competing; I like getting the best out of players and challenging myself.
“If you want to give a true opinion on something you’ve got to experience it yourself.”
– This article was updated at 4.15pm with additional quotes from Ronan O’Gara to clarify previous comments he had made to New Zealand media.
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It would be some session.
Interesting they left Thurles off given the large capacity
I’ve never been but heard it’s an awful bootleneck of a place to get to
Wouldn’t say there are a massive number of hotel rooms either.
Having said though i’ve been to Pearse Stadium and Thurles can’t be much worse positioned
@Ciarán: They wouldn’t want to have half empty stadia for the group stages which is what the GAA grounds will be used for with the exception of Croke Park.
100%
Thurles would not have the hotel capacity to accommodate an international game.
Not enough hotel rooms in Thurles for an international game
Casement is as much of a bottleneck to get in and out of.
Pearse stadium is in a city with lots of hotels though, most visitors would be using public transport
Ah u could say the same for Clones. Both are in fairly rural areas with no hotels etc to accommodate larger crowds who will need somewhere to stay
Surprised Cavan not picked.
Seating is terrible. Hard to see the field
@Ciarán: the weak link is MAYO and that will take a lot of selling to the committee
Seemingly not enough hotels around thurles !!!
I agree, it’s hard to believe the stadium with the second biggest capacity, even third if modified to an all seater, is left out of this. It also handles more big crowds on a regular basis than all but Croke Park, is easier to get to than several others with train and motorway links.
That’s a red herring. There’s not much for hotel space in Castlebar, Derry or Kilkenny either. Easy to get to Thurles via train and road (bus) so the hotel issue is nonsense I’d say, no offence.
Can’t understand that one.would be some trip to Tipp
There’s enough in a 20 mile radius plus everyone in Kennedy Park could put up a bunch of them let them make a few Bob lol
Easy get to Castlebar aswel. But it’s a devil to get around the place when a gaa game is on never mind getting busses in for this.
Chreck out balls.ie and it might not be nonsense about hotels ….
Croke park to host a rugby world cup final. Wouldn’t that be a scene.
Noo to forhen games! Make the gaa great again!
It would be the best Rugby World Cup ever !
Think i’ll stick the house up on Airbnb for it and whip out the tent for a few weeks
Better start saving now the tickets ain’t cheap!
amazing – never in a million years did i think a RWC match would be brought to derry. this has to happen
Great for that north west region to see international rugby player there.
Casement could be wiped off that list soon. Quickly becoming a red herring unfortunately.
Could that have an impact on the bid? I’d imagine having a large stadium in the second largest city on the island with a large hotel capacity would be quite crucial to the bid, Ravenhill only holds 18,000.
Casement if finished won’t be 34.5k capacity.
They better improve wheelchair access in a lot of these stadiums
Can’t wait for pairc ui caoimh to open..it’s looking well
Disagree, Pairc Ui Chaoimh is outdated before it’s even built , terribly old fashioned design, one stand is tiny , corners not rounded, terrace not covered, bit of a shambles really
and just when a story is published about irish rail thinking of closing routes that are losing money. the stadia or eagerness of the public to host the tournament won’t be a problem. infrastructure is where we could fall down.
Dont worry we’ll only be three years away from Metro North by 2023
Donncha Ó Ríordáin, the 2011 RWC in NZ was a huge success with almost no rail system and an infrastructure that often consisted of one road in and one road out. Let’s not forget most of the games will be 15,000 to 30,000 hardly any reason to panic and start building motorways. None of the supporters are in a rush to get anywhere.
i’ve never been to nz so wouldn’t know a whole lot about their rail and motor networks. i just know that ours are pathetic. and just because a country like nz hosted a tournament with substandard infrastructure, i don’t think that should be used as an excuse to not put money into transporting people and at least leaving a legacy behind after the tournament.
@Donncha Ó Ríordáin: Insurance, Oil and higher purchase are the daddy. Watch as they invest billions in keeping us on the road.
I was hoping they would tie this announcement in with a redevelopment / new build for Connacht rugby (obviously not a thomond sized building)
Castlebar is significantly bigger than 31,000
Might be restrictions that won’t allow it to be at capacity. Soccer has to be all seated, perhaps the rugby world cup has ruled too about stadia , capacity and other infrastructure
It is all seating, i’d say 38-40,000
It’s all seating but this “seating” on three sides of the pitch comprises of uncovered concrete benches, it’s not exactly on par with a uefa 5 star facility. Other than the new covered stand, it would want a serious upgrade if it is to hold a rugby world cup game.
Without the concrete benches if it held 12,000 I’d be surprised
We’ll tell them to bring cushions with them!
The plan is to keep assign the seating to the entire ground. It’s bee n happening slowly. Injection of cash from this would see it easily finished. That would make the capacity circa. 33,000
Disappointed that the Gaelic Grounds and Semple have been excluded considering their large capacities would mean more tickets for fans etc. Nonetheless, I really hope we get this opportunity. Any news on the France or SA bids?
I believe SA’s own government pulled them out of the running.
It’s something to do with meeting racial quota targets – if they weren’t met the bid wouldn’t be endorsed by the government. I believe it was in doubt, but is back on track now. Don’t quote me on that though.
Yeah the SA govt are back tracking and are now saying the Boks, while not on target, are making serious efforts to meet quotas.
I almost hope not. The rugby bandwagon is getting out of control. It reminds me of the obsession with F1 back in the nineties when Eddie Irvine was threatening for the top spot. Here, (and with the notable exception of Limerick – a true rugby place), everyone seems to think they are part of “the rubby”, when in reality, only those who are privately educated stand much of a chance. They’ll be booing the kicker next. Rugby is in real danger of becoming the new soccer. Going forward.
@Dr Richard DeWitt: What on earth is a “rubby”??
What real fans call it apparently
What a tw@t
@DeWitt, Rugby is one of the most popular sports in the country, due in no small part to the tremendous success of the provinces and the national side. It is here to stay whether you like it or not. As a sport it is loved by many in this country. Landing the world cup would be a huge boost to the economy and no doubt even further grow the game. “Limerick is a true rugby place…”? Ironically enough, a rugby world cup would be a huge boost to the local enomomy in Limerick ( much needed ) and if its true that Limerick is “a true rugby place” then its only fitting the world cup comes to Limerick.
@Dr Richard DeWitt:
‘Is in real danger’ generaly prefixes something bad. Like getting fired or developing diabetes.
@Robert James Behan: How many people loved rugby 20 years ago? You win a bit, everyone is a fan. There are guys I grew up with who thought rugby was for “posh tossers” growing up who now act like they themselves showed promise at under-9. How many people watch F1 now? RTE don’t even show it anymore. It’s a bandwagon, plain and simple.
@Dr Richard DeWitt: Aww someones a bit bitter their sport isnt getting as much attention as they would like. Might want to remove that chip from your shoulder and get over it. What other international sport that we just beat the wrold champions in would you prefer we all obsessed over?
@Dr Richard DeWitt: I think the lack of an F1 team in every parish may have been a factor too
@DeWitt, Must be terrible to be as miserable as you are? Don’t hurt yourself jumping off the band wagon. There is nothing controversial about the rise of rugby. So what if rugby has grown hugely in popularity over the past 20 years? Sport in general is fickle by its very nature. It rises and falls on its own sword. Do you think the football fan base in Ireland didnt massively grow in the late 80s and early 1980s when Ireland were making it to European Championships and World Cups and grinding out results? And what about the huge drop in attendances at football games when the national side wasnt doing so well? Your F1 comment is a red herring. I remember Snooker being a very popular game growing up as a kid. The snooker halls would be packed put when the world championships and other major tournaments were on. It would be well reported and on the TV. Now you would be lucky if there is even a whisper of a snooker tournament in Ireland…… In short your post is pretty redundant.
Ask the Maori coach.. he had only positive things to say about Limerick and their passion for rugby
@Dr Richard DetWit – fixed that for you – one of the t’s was in the wrong place.
Have the GAA officially pledged to upgrade the stadiums mentioned aside of Pairc ui Chaoimh and Casement Park?
@Peter Nagle: might have a job persuading them to put in seating and a roof.
Will we lose the stadiums in the north if brexit goes through??
Not really of it’s a joint bid by the IRFU and GAA, both an all island organisation. Plus the loyalists are not going to turn the money regard of their allegiance.
*turn down the money regardless*.
Wow this is really a small minded statement . Clearly Keelan has no understanding of the passion that the rugby fans in NI have for Irish rugby .
I was referring to hardline Unionist politicians who think there’s some sort of takeover whenever the Republic and the North cooperate together. So don’t be getting your knickers in a twist.
Ok , but I think that you will be waiting a long time to see any objections from any politicians North or South .
I may sound dumb mentioning this, and I apologise if I do, but why not transform Windsor Park to host a rugby match?
@Zacarias.: well it would mean having to get Linfield FC to agree for one while the GAA is already on board. Its capacity is only 18,000 and I suspect the pitch is too short?
Nervous year ahead.
@Trevor Dunne: Bless
Now now Doc don’t be a w@nker
Are we really in a position to host this tournament? Sure, NZ hosted it with perhaps even more inferior infrastructure, but they probably got nowhere near as many fans as we would get due to us being in Europe, where 5 of the 8 or so countries that actually follow the game come from.
We’d probably scrape by hosting it, but there are far more important things to be sorted out in this country.
Eoin Fitzpatrick, when you mention infrastructure, are you talking about high speed trains and motorways? There’s 4 or 5 rest days between your teams games. Fans will zig zag around the country to kill time, visit new places, listen to traditional Irish music and drink Guinness until it comes out their ears.
They might add a bit to the gene pool while they’re at it.
Kerry would want to give Fitzgerald Stadium a good scrub, i was there for first time this year for Munster final, dirtiest stadium iv ever seen, the jacks were the worst iv ever seen , absolutely disgusting which is a pity as Killarney is a great town
Invest in the infrastructure now so it doesn’t become the thing that wrecks the experience!
Well done to the GAA for letting their stadia be used. Very often the national sport in Ireland seems to me to be not GAA or Soccer but – GAA bashing. 8 of the 12 proposed stadium are GAA ones. Anyway good luck to the bid for 2023.
Yeah they’re happy enough f*ckin their foreign sports rule out the window when there’s a chance of making a few bob.
I think that a good many of the proposed venues will never be used. To secure the RWC we will have to trade some of the games to Cardiff, Edinburgh etc to lock down the votes of their unions.
Don’t think so. The Welsh RFU probably dislike the French a bit more than us so we’ll be seen as the lesser of 2 evils. And shur aren’t the Scots our Gaelic cousins.
Dare to dream.
I’d say we are certs .. liam neeson will find the organisers and sort them if not !!!
It’s no surprise that the IRFU has left one of Ireland’s biggest towns in Tallaght out of the picture!
Snobs
I see the Britain wants to host it with Ireland than.