Ronan O'Gara has made waves as head coach of La Rochelle, bringing the side to unprecedented success in European competition.
The small seaside French town is not where one would expect to find a powerhouse of European rugby, but Munster legend O'Gara has played a pivotal role in bringing Stade Rochelais to such dizzying heights in recent years.
Without a scrap of silverware to their name before O'Gara's arrival, La Rochelle are now back-to-back defending European champions, and have reached two of the last three Top 14 finals.
Corkman O'Gara has not only earned acclaim for his serious coaching acumen, but also for his unabashed passion on the sideline and in the dressing room.
Last summer, a clip went viral of O'Gara giving a team-talk to his side in a hybrid of sorts between French and Corkonian English.
We are thrilled to tell you that we have unearthed several more such clips from La Rochelle's excellent L'Inside documentary - a behind-the-scenes look at last season's triumphant Champions Cup campaign.
READ HERE: Footage Emerges Of Rassie Erasmus’ Furious Expletive-Ridden World Cup Team Talk
READ HERE: Paul O'Connell Has 'Regrets' Over Way Teammates Treated Each Other During His Career
La Rochelle documentary unearths yet more classic ROG team talks
La Rochelle's road to a second successive Champions Cup was a perenially nervy one, with two of their four knockout games won by just a single score - including the final against Leinster.
Their last-16 tie against Gloucester saw them triumph by just three points and L'inside reveals the pumped up team-talk O'Gara delivered at half-time, with the sides level at 15-15.
(The first team talk begins at 17:35 in the above video)
Encouraging his side to show character, O'Gara dropped another classic F-bomb in the middle of a French sentence telling the La Rochelle players that Gloucester were a "dangerous" team intent on making it "their" quarter-final.
How can we be better?
Langue du corps - body language! Urgency et courage! Okay?
Cet l'équipe fucking dangereuse qui veut que joue leur quart-finale.
Get the fuck up! Encourage, ambience ensemble, let's go!
After their dramatic three-point victory over Gloucester, O'Gara can yet again be heard speaking to the team in his trademark Corkonian-français blend (at 22:15 in the above video). Grégory Alldritt can be seen attempting to interpret what O'Gara is saying before quietly nodding to himself.
The highlight is when O'Gara says:
Le souvenir ce soir est dormir avec une victoire. On attaque lundi, il y a beaucoup de choses de dire pour le performance. Mais il ya un chose qu'il y a plus important c'est la coeur. Vous etes équipe priviligée...wow (The memory of tonight is to sleep with a victory. We attack Monday, there are plenty of things to say about the performance. But there is one thing that is more important - the heart. You are a privileged team...wow)
C'est bien! We're fucking there and on y va! (It's brilliant, we're fucking there and on we go!)
Oh, but that is not all.
Of course, La Rochelle then had a quarter-final to play, against the might of Saracens. With the French side coasting and 16-3 up at half-time, it was time for another Ronan O'Gara special (taking place at 34:00 in the video).
Le dernier vingt minutes, c'est fucking top (the last 20 minutes were fucking top).
Mais, j'insiste a jouer sur nos tempo (I insist that we play at our tempo).
C'est fucking zero-zero...un nouveau match (It's 0-0, a new game).
In honesty, it becomes quite difficult to decipher exactly what O'Gara is saying, even if this author counted French as one of his stronger Leaving Cert subjects.
There are plenty more F-bombs however, as he attempts to ensure that his team do not lose sight of their ultimate goal - reaching the last four and then the final.
Our favourite post-match, however, comes in a later clip in the moments after victory over Saracens, when another all-timer quote from ROG comes flying in.
It's fucking magnificent de voir ça. J'adore le match. (It's fucking magnificent to see this - I love this match)
Vous avez decidéz...il est beaucoup de champions. Quel group. Je suis très très fire, merci. (You have all decided...there are plenty of champions. I'm very, very proud, thank you).
There's plenty more Ronan O'Gara in L'inside, a captivating watch for rugby fans who enjoy a bit of Cork-style French speaking.
Of course, the final brought O'Gara back to a familiar stomping ground, as La Rochelle faced Leinster in the home of the Irish national team at the Aviva Stadium.
(At 1:09:50 in the above video comes O'Gara's team talk mere days before the Champions Cup final)
His motivational speech to the team days before the game is the highlight for us, as he riles his team up to face the team they had knocked out of the previous two competitions.
It's the clearest French O'Gara speaks in the entire film, and it's evident that it makes its mark on the La Rochelle players, as they pensively tell him that the giants of Sexton, Furlong and co. stand between them and hopes of retaining the Champions Cup.
L'inside is a must-watch for ROG alone, let alone the remarkable story of La Rochelle's success.
SEE ALSO: Hook's Hooch - Irish Product Placement Peaked After 2004 Triple Crown Win
