RONAN O’Gara was unsparing in his criticism after La Rochelle missed out on a place in the Top 14 play-offs – particularly towards himself.
His side were leapfrogged for the last play-off place by Castres after they fell to a 32-18 away defeat to Pau.
They had been in sixth place before the final round of regular season fixtures[/caption]
The loss to eight-placed Pau ensured they dropped down to seventh[/caption]
It was an especially bitter pill to swallow since they had seemed to be out the other side of a dismal four-month win-less stretch from January-April.
Being overtaken by a solitary point in the standings would have rubbed further salt in the wound.
Reflecting on the club missing out on the French post-season for the first time since 2018, the Munster icon made no attempt to hide what a body blow it came as.
He admitted: “It’s the end of a cycle. We need new ideas, new players, new tactics, a complete overhaul, and much more consistency…
“How can we play like that in such an important match?
“There were some similarities with the team that had just won five in a row, but we were a bit like the team we saw in February, March, and April.
“When we had our backs against the wall, we won five games to give ourselves the chance to play a ‘round-of-16 match’ tonight.
“I feel like we just thought we’d turn up and do the job, but sport isn’t like that. Pau deserved to win…
“The coach was especially missing. We talk about discipline all week, but when the coach is suspended, he can’t have any impact.
“The main culprit is me. I’m frustrated, angry, disappointed. And I’m sad for the fans after all the bad games they have had.
“I’m sad for Brice (Dulin), I’m very sad for Tawera (Kerr-Barlow). He deserves much more than this.”
The suspension he alluded to was dished out was of the five-week variety.
The 48-year-old was last month slapped with it by French authorities for “actions against a match official” during a January loss to Toulon.
The severity of the ban seemingly led to a protest from O’Gara prior to his side’s 30-29 victory over Vannes on May 10.
Parlez-Vous French Rugby reported at the time that he refused to leave the team bus for the first 20 minutes of the match to make it clear he was unhappy with league chiefs.
While the veteran pair in retiring Brice Dulin and Stade Francais-bound Tawera Kerr-Barlow he mentioned are departing, there is some grounds for optimism based off their incoming player additions.
France scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec, 23, jumps out among four arrivals for the 2025/2026 season.
The others are Semi Lagivala, 22, Davit Niniashvili, 22, and Ugo Pacome, 20, are the others as it’s clear the well-financed outfit are embarking on a youth movement.
O’Gara is contracted with the south-western club until 2027 and has repeatedly said he intends to honour that contract rather than move on to pastures new.
