Ronan O'Gara may be in trouble once again with the Top 14 disciplinary board, with the La Rochelle head coach summoned to face the board over his behaviour during Sunday's defeat to Racing 92.
The Irishman has seen his side struggle for form in the Top 14 this season, with just three wins from their opening eight games leaving them 11th in the table.
Things did not get any easier on Sunday afternoon, as league leaders Racing 92 - with World Cup-winning debutant Siya Kolisi in tow - cruised to a 32-10 win over the European champions.
To add insult to injury, the antics of Ronan O'Gara on the touchline drew the ire of the match officials, who have reported his behaviour to the Ligue Nationale Rugby disciplinary committee.
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Ronan O'Gara summoned to face disciplinary board again
In a statement announcing the summons to the committee after the weekend's action, the LNR disciplinary committee said that Ronan O'Gara's behaviour during the defeat to Racing 92 was "likely to constitute an infringement of the regulations."
O'Gara will face the committee on December 6, with another touchline ban impending - just days before La Rochelle are reunited with Leinster in the Champions Cup.
20 May 2023; La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara, centre, with Romain Sazy, left, and Grégory Alldritt after the Heineken Champions Cup Final match between Leinster and La Rochelle at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
O'Gara's La Rochelle side form something of an arch-nemesis for Leinster in Champions Cup rugby. The French side have defeated Leinster in back-to-back finals, while they were also responsible for Leinster's semi-final defeat in 2021.
During May's clash between the two sides in the Champions Cup final in Dublin, O'Gara was at the centre of the game's most controversial incident. Leinster captain Johnny Sexton and ex-player Sean O'Brien would clash with O'Gara in the tunnel at half-time as they attempted to beat the La Rochelle coach to referee Jaco Peyper in the tunnel.
The incident was brushed under the rug by O'Gara, and Sexton's general behaviour towards the referee would ultimately earn him a pre-World Cup ban.
If O'Gara does receive a touchline ban on December 6, it would almost certainly rule him out of Leinster's trip to La Rochelle on Sunday December 10 in the first round of this season's Champions Cup.
It would not be the first disciplinary action O'Gara has faced from the LNR, having picked up four previous touchline bans during his time at La Rochelle.
His comments about match officials last winter saw him serve a ten-match ban - which led to the humorous sight of the suspended O'Gara sitting alone in the stands at La Rochelle's behind-closed-doors clash with Ulster last December.
He has also previously served a six-week suspension (also last season), and two separate two-week bans.
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