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24th November 2022
05:41pm GMT
"Yeah, of course I would [be interested in England], yeah. Because I think that they are a team that can win as World Cup, you know?"
"It's very different from when you play, to when you're coaching. It's hard to explain it to guys who are still playing, or are young supporters, but when you get into coaching and you have responsibility for the whole group - the whole environment - it's a very exciting role to have. "There's serious players in England, there's strength in depth there, and there's a structure there that is very well organised. So, in terms of a sporting point of view, there's a lot there. "I, obviously, over the next number of weeks have to give that [England job possibility] the depth of thought necessary. Weighing it up is one thing and I'm only on a shortlist, but to actually place yourself, mentally and physically, in that role, there's a lot involved in that, and it's something that I'm fully aware of. Because it is the exact same as any player or coach that signs a contract. Signing the contract is quite easy, but positioning yourself in the training ground or in an England tracksuit, that's what you have to think about. "So you have to weigh it all up, too. I was extremely fortunate, and grateful, to win a European Cup in my first year as head coach here. There's so many good things in this club that have just started. I've always said, 'Why would you walk away from that?' So, there's a lot of issues in my head that are not sorted, but they're great decisions to have."Ronan O'Gara was keen to stress that he would only be part of the decision, were he to one day move on from La Rochelle and into a new coaching challenge. His wife, Jess, and his children would be part of the conversation, too, he said. O'Gara is reportedly on that RFU shortlist, for the England job, with Steve Borthwick of Leicester Tigers and Scott Robertson, his old head coach at the Crusaders. Should he get the top job, we could have former England player Andy Farrell bringing his Ireland side to Twickenham, in 2024, to take on Ronan O'Gara's England in the Six Nations. *That FULL Ronan O'Gara interview will be in the next episode of House of Rugby
Award winning Irish designer, Benetti Menswear, has launched their new seasonal collections for Autumn Winter '22 with La Rochelle Head Coach and former Munster, Ireland and British & Irish Lions player Ronan O’Gara. The new Autumn Winter collections are available at featured retailers nationwide and exclusively online at Benetti.ie. (Photographer: Alex Hutchinson)
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