If there is an Irish coaching vacancy in 2019, Ronan O’Gara wants the job.
The former Munster out-half committed to his French side Racing 92 earlier this week, agreeing to a three-year contract extension to take him to the end of the decade.
Kicking and defence coach at the Top 14 side, some fans are hoping for the Cork native’s return to Ireland, perhaps even Munster this summer as part of the overhaul that will see the province appoint a Director of Rugby this summer.
However in his Irish Examiner column today, O’Gara’s outlines his reasons for staying in France – which can only be a good thing for Irish rugby in the long term.
The country’s record points-scorer is hoping his French rugby education will see him graduate to a senior position in Irish rugby when he does return to these shores.
“There’s no clause in my contract regarding get-outs but the club here would always know my goal, longer term, is to take a top team in Ireland, or get involved in the Irish international set-up. They would be very understanding in that regard. I know they wouldn’t stand in my way.”
O’Gara admits that he is currently very happy in France, and his children are picking up the language. He feels the new contract will allow him to develop his coaching, so when his contract expires in 2019, he will be ready for a new project.
“In three years, it’ll be time for a new challenge. At that stage, I’ll have six years’ coaching experience under my belt. We all start somewhere, as Martin Johnson reminded me, but in three years’ time, the breadth of rugby knowledge accumulated will have created a solid coaching foundation.”
O’Gara’s decision to move back to Ireland in 2019 is likely to put several provincial sides on alert, with surely his native Munster his most likely destination.
