How O'Gara quit the England race with 'amicable' RFU conversation

Ronan O’Gara has explained his reasons for pulling out of the race in midweek to succeed Eddie Jones as the England boss. The Irishman had been regularly linked with the job throughout 2022 and his credentials were enhanced by coaching La Rochelle to first-time Heineken Champions Cup glory last May.

However, despite using his recent time in London as co-coach of the Barbarians to further fuel his interest in coaching England by doing some media interviews reiterating his post-2023 Rugby World Cup ambition to be considered by the RFU, O’Gara declared himself a non-runner in recent days.

Speculation that England will sack Jones and look to appoint an interim boss for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations and the ensuing World Cup wasn’t the reason for the O’Gara pull-out. Instead, it was his agreement with La Rochelle to remain at the helm of the Top 14 club through to the summer of 2027.

That decision meant he picked up the phone to inform the RFU that his race to succeed Jones as England coach was run and he shed light on his decision-making process in his latest weekly column in the Irish Examiner.

“I had contact from the RFU,” he confirmed. “It’s England. If you get offered a gig like that - and I wasn’t, to be accurate - then you have to give it due consideration until such time as someone else gets the job or you officially eliminate yourself from the race. That was done in a very amicable conversation this week; ‘I’m not sure if I am making your job easier or harder, but... etc etc’. No hard feelings, we may meet again.

“Events may dictate otherwise, but the sense is that the RFU will be making their moves after the Six Nations, and there was no good reason to delay my own situation in La Rochelle and mess our president, Vincent Merling around. That’s why I asked the RFU to remove me from any putative list of head coach options.

“I don’t believe I was at the top of their list anyway and when you are as happy personally and professionally as I am in La Rochelle, it would take something quite remarkable to change course from remaining here for another few seasons. But you have to listen too.

“I have no sense of Eddie Jones’ position, but my sense is that the RFU are well positioned either way - Scott Robertson is available and Steve Borthwick is on their doorstep. The idea that Razor will sit tight and hang his hat on being the next All Blacks coach is a dangerous premise. There is a lot of water to flow under the bridge between now and the World Cup, and there are a few sharks in that water too.”