Ronan O’Gara continues to bring the same over the top feistiness he had as a player to his coaching job, with another Top 14 sideline spat.
During La Rochelle’s league loss to Toulouse on Saturday, Ronan O’Gara could be seen in a heated altercation with Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola.
It is unclear what words were said but the involvement of the fourth official was needed to ensure that no escalation of the incident occurred.
Both coaches can be seen exchanging verbals in the 65th minute of the match, with O’Gara looking particularly unamused, before Mola turns around to his dugout with a sarcastic smile and a wink.
#TOP14 - J24
Quand tu croises le regard de ton pote et que ça part en baston de regard 😂 pic.twitter.com/FFCVgPNBHP— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) May 3, 2022
It is the second such incident O’Gara has been involved in in recent weeks, following his touchline fight with Bordeaux head coach Christophe Urios in early April.
We reported on that incident at the time, and Ronan O’Gara and Urios have both since been sanctioned by a disciplinary committee.
That altercation was a lot more heated than the one involving Mola, as both coaches got right up in each other’s faces, while Urios appeared to attempt a slap on O’Gara as well.
Christophe Urios and Ronan O'Gara
⚔️🔥 #UBBSR #TOP14 pic.twitter.com/rpIaXN289c— Ottavio Arenella (@OttavioArenella) April 2, 2022
It is unlikely O’Gara will face any disciplinary issues following the much more benign incident with Mola.
The match itself with Toulouse finished 23-17 to the home-side, leaving them in sixth place in the Top 14 and level on points with seventh place La Rochelle.
Both sides will be competing in this weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-finals, with Toulouse taking on Munster in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, and La Rochelle facing off against Montpellier on Saturday also.
As it was when he was a player, the uber-competitiveness of Ronan O’Gara at times boils over, but as long as he never takes it too far, we won’t wish him to change one bit.
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