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21st September 2023
01:07pm BST

Johnny Sexton (left) and Ronan O'Gara. (Credit: Sportsfile & Rugbypass)[/caption]
"Yeah, it's been a love/hate, hate/love, hate/love. Probably, at the minute, it's hate. "That's the right way - and we've chatted this through - because two into one don't go. La Rochelle and Leinster don't go... [the relationship] was well made up after that [Munster and Leinster rivalry] there were Ireland careers together and, sure, I coached him in Racing. That's a coach-player relationship, and very different, obviously. "No, there's so many different layers to Johnny but there is a really good soul there. I'd like to think the same but, sometimes, perception isn't reality with the two of them. Because you're essentially responsible for your team, when you're the 10, the boss or the goal-kicker and, in his case, the captain. You're trying to drive the team. "What has happened in the last few seasons has been the fact that we've come across them. So, he's trying to drive his team, I'm trying to drive my team. It's pretty fake if you think everything is going to be rosy. This is European Cups we're talking about. This means a lot to an awful lot of people. There's going to be, without anything controversial even happening, a difference of opinion on how you see things. "I'm trying to mess him up. He's trying to mess my team up. If you've got these two strong minds, it's not going to be a period where you're going to get on. But I think the most important thing is there will be huge respect there. You can park that and hopefully revisit it, as you'd appreciate that once you come out of that environment or your environment - your ball of stress and competitiveness - there's a whole new world out there, and there will be many years afterwards where you can have a vin rouge [red wine] and bit of fromage [cheese] and chat through how crazy we were at that period."Ronan O'Gara also speaks well, during the interview, about how Ireland will be looking to play against South Africa, this weekend. Players 1 to 10 need to be right on the money to stand a winning chance, he feels, and short, sharp passing is key. "If you play long pass, long pass against South Africa," he warns, "they'll eat you up with salt!"
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