Ronan O'Gara was in a surprisingly chirpy mood when speaking with the RTE punditry team this afternoon, given the magnitude of the game that awaited him and his La Rochelle side.
A mere half hour before kick-off he was out on the Aviva pitch chatting away to the panel of Jacqui Hurley, Jamie Heaslip, Jerry Flannery, and Fiona Coghlan, ahead of the first final back in Dublin since Toulon took down Clermont at the Aviva in 2013.
Alluding to this, Hurley said to O'Gara, "you get to come home, you get to spoil Leinster's party, you're perfectly set up after Munster last week."
However, the La Rochelle head coach was quick to point out that Dublin is certainly not his home.
Well I'm coming to Dublin, I'm not coming home.
Even though Lansdowne Road is very, very special to me, as you well know I'm from Cork and I'm very proud of that.
Ronan O'Gara Reminds Everyone That He Is A Proud Corkman
Last week's loss to Munster will be playing on Leinster minds, reckons @jerryflannery#LEIvSR
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READ HERE: O'Gara Makes It Clear That There Should Be More Focus On Leinster Stopping La Rochelle
"It’s a home game for me too, you forget," said in a press conference yesterday.
"I have such great memories in this stadium, the minute I walked through, I was like I can’t believe I'm here.
"You're in a bit of a time warp because you’re focused, but when you stand back from it, it will be a fantastic occasion and there's a lot to be proud of but now is not the moment to be reflective.
"It's time to drive on, get the best out of our players.
"There has to be disbelief at the final whistle last year. In my head, there was days driving home going ‘Where are we going with this?' Coaching is lonely, it's tough, you question a lot and then you get a return like that in Marseille."
SEE ALSO: The Irishmen Looking To Guide La Rochelle Past Leinster In The Champions Cup Final
