“For a second. I thought Jack Crowley was with me.”
Ronan O’Gara was extremely gracious in defeat after his La Rochelle side lost 24-25 to Munster in the Champions Cup yesterday.
And it was an O’Gara-esque drop goal from Jack Crowley that made the difference, with a three-pointer out of nothing on 68 minutes, putting his side two scores ahead.
After the game, the ex-Munster out-half – famous for his many match-winning drop goals for both Munster and Ireland – likened the youngster to himself.
He said: “For a second. I thought Jack Crowley was with me, I was like ‘f**k, that’s the wrong team’.
“I was hoping that would turn our season today but we have to go back to the drawing board now and see what can be resurrected.
“It’s important. I’m obviously gutted but I think you’ve got to compliment and congratulate Munster on how they constructed their victory.
“It was pretty ironic how they won it, getting it out to eight points with a peach of a drop goal. I was thinking ‘that little f**ker’.
“I’ve seen a lot of good drop goals but that’s a top-class one at a moment that just probably takes the decision away from the referee too, with a five-point game, maybe you’re thinking okay we’re going to have a chance.
“But it was a brilliant kick. Craig Casey kicked brilliantly and they took their opportunities, we didn’t. You can analyse deeply into it but that’s a pretty fast summation of it.”
