It's a homecoming for Ronan O'Gara. And at the time of the kick-off of the meeting with Racing 92 (Saturday at 3.30 p.m., Paris La Défense Arena), the Irish coach of La Rochelle will undoubtedly have a little twinge after crossing Laurent Travers. It is in the footsteps of his Ile-de-France counterpart that the former half-opening of the XV of Ireland made his first steps as a coach.
From 2013 to 2017, the former Munster playing master forged his identity as a technician at the Plessis-Robinson training center in contact with the duo Laurent Travers-Laurent Labit, which is now dissolved. "I have a lot of admiration for coach Laurent Travers, for Jacky Lorenzetti ( Editor's note: the president ) and for Yannick Nyanga ( Editor's note: the sports director )," the Irishman told Midi Olympique.
O'Gara, then went to the Crusaders in New Zealand to perfect his training, will discover the Arena of Nanterre and its synthetic lawn where the Ciel-et-Blanc remain on four successes in a row in all competitions. He will have noted that Lyon and Bordeaux, the two teams that dominate the Top 14 championship for the moment, have imposed themselves in the lair of the Parisians. He also knows that he faces a team upset by their backhand traveling to Lyon (29-20) during the previous day which had stopped the irresistible rise in the classification of Racingmen. Separated by a small point, La Rochelle (3rd) and Racing 92 (5th) will want to win to follow the hellish pace imposed by the leading duo.
Always deprived of its internationals Camille Chat, Teddy Thomas, Bernard Le Roux or Virimi Vakatawa, retained in the French team, Racing 92 records the offensive returns of Juan Imhoff and Simon Zebo.