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O'Gara facing disciplinary hearing before La Rochelle host Leinster
By Liam Heagney
Ronan O’Gara is set for another disciplinary hearing in France after match officials again took exception to his alleged bad behaviour at a Top 14 match.
It was 14 months ago when he was suspended for six weeks and his club La Rochelle fined €10,000 after he was charged with disrespecting a match official following a September 2022 win at Lyon.
That sanction was reached after a disciplinary hearing took into account the Irishman’s previous run-ins with officials in France and that record will potentially be a factor again at his next hearing on December 6.
The latest trouble he has become embroiled in took place last Sunday when 14-man La Rochelle were beaten at Racing, his old club.
A Ligue Nationale de Rugby statement read: “At the end of the above-mentioned meeting [Racing vs La Rochelle], the match officials appointed at that meeting reported the behaviour of Ronan O'GARA, coach of Stade Rochelais.
“The situation in question is likely to constitute a violation of the general regulations of the NRL and the FFR. Ronan O’Gara and the Stade Rochelais club have been summoned to appear before the disciplinary and disciplinary committee at its meeting on December 6. O'Gara is not suspended pending this hearing.”
La Rochelle were beaten 32-10 at Racing in a game where they lost Teddy Thomas to a 25th-minute red card, a dismissal that was followed a minute later by the sin-binning of Pierre Bourgarit in a first half that ended with O’Gara’s team trailing 24-3.
Next week’s disciplinary hearing will take place four days before La Rochelle host Leinster in the opening round of this season's Investec Champions Cup.
The French club have beaten their Irish rivals in knockout games the past three seasons, starting with the 2021 semi-final and followed by the 2022 and 2023 finals in Marseille and Dublin.
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Latest Comments
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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