Not bad Skin

By Shane Brophy

Donnacha Ryan’s first step into coaching has proven to be a dream one as his La Rochelle team won their first European Champions Cup title last Saturday with a late late win over Leinster in Marseille.

Ryan (38) only retired from playing at the end of last season after seventeen seasons, thirteen with Munster and the last four with Racing 92 in France. The Nenagh native was immediately offered a coaching role by his former Munster and Ireland teammate Ronan O’Gara when he took over as head coach of the west coast French club and less than a year later they have guided La Rochelle to their first European success.

Donnacha Ryan is the team’s forwards coach and following the 24-21 win where La Rochelle won the game with a late minute try after being camped on the Leinster line for almost ten minutes, O’Gara paid tribute to the role of Donnacha Ryan in that score in forgoing three points at the start of that sustained attack, instead going in search of the match-winning try which paid off.

“We have skin (Donnacha) Ryan harping away in Tipperary French all week that the quickest way to the try-line is straight,” O’Gara said with replacement Arthur Retiere touching down for the winning score with less than ninety seconds left.

It is the second European Cup success Ryan has been involved in having won it as a player with Munster in 2008.

The team returned to La Rochelle on Sunday with around 35,000 people gathering on the port area to welcome their heroes home with O’Gara stating “this is the start of something special,” with their next target being a first French League title, currently lying in fourth place in the table ahead of the final round of group games this Sunday night, with La Rochelle playing away to European Challenge Cup winners Lyon, with the top six progressing to the knockout stages with just four points separating teams fourth to eight in the table.