Ronan O'Gara hopes that one day he and Johnny Sexton will be able to sit down, have a glass of wine and cheese, and talk about the rivalry between them and their clubs La Rochelle and Leinster.
O'Gara has coached La Rochelle to victory over Leinster in the last two European Cup finals. Sexton received a three-game ban for his conduct following May's 27-26 loss to the French side in Dublin.
Sexton overtook O'Gara as Ireland's all-time record points scorer during last weekend's Rugby World Cup victory over Tonga. Asked after the game if he'd received a congratulatory message from O'Gara, Sexton replied "I’m not sure we’re talking to each other after the European Cup final".
In an interview with Jim Hamilton on the Rugbypass YouTube channel, O'Gara was asked if he and Sexton "get on".
"It's been a love hate, hate love, hate love [relationship]," said O'Gara.
"Probably at the minute, it's hate, if that's the right way [to put it]. We've chatted this through. Two into one doesn't go. La Rochelle and Leinster don't go."
19 October 2013; Johnny Sexton, Racing Metro, and kicking coach Ronan O'Gara. Heineken Cup 2013/14, Pool 4, Round 2, Llanelli Scarlets v Racing Metro, Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli, Wales. Picture credit: Matthew Impey / SPORTSFILE
O'Gara said he and Sexton are "well made up" following their high-profile rivalry with Munster and Leinster.
"There was Ireland careers together," said O'Gara.
"I coached him in Racing. That's a coach-player relationship. That's very different.
"There's so many different layers to Johnny but there's a really good soldier. I'd like to really think the same [about me] but sometimes, the perception isn't reality with the two of them.
"You're essentially responsible for your team when you're the ten, the boss and the goalkicker, 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 have come across them. He's trying to drive his team, I'm trying to drive my team.
20 May 2023; Johnny Sexton of Leinster reacts during the Heineken Champions Cup Final match between Leinster and La Rochelle at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
"It's pretty fake if you think everything is going to be rosy. This is European Cups that we are talking about. This means an awful lot to an awful lot of people.
"There's going to be, without anything controversial, a difference in opinion on how we see things. I'm trying to mess him and he's trying to mess my team up. If you have two strong minds, it's not going to be a period where you're going to get on.
"The most important thing, there will be huge respect there. You can park that and hopefully revisit it because you'd appreciate it that once you come out of that environment, your ball of stress and competitiveness, there's a whole new world out there and there will be many years after where you will be able to have a vin rouge and a nice bit of fromage and chat through how crazy we were at that period."
24 November 2012; Ireland's Ronan O'Gara, left, and Johnny Sexton leave the pitch after the match. Autumn International, Ireland v Argentina, Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, Dublin. Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
Regarding Sexton breaking his Irish record, O'Gara added: "I respect the fact that someone who is very serious and who works hard gets a huge reward. It is an individual achievement but at the same time, it's a fantastic thing he has achieved.
"Of course, if you're a competitor, you'd love to be [Ireland's all-time top scorer], otherwise you'd be a bullshitter."
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