A brilliant video featuring former Ireland player Ronan O'Gara conversing in French with a Cork accent to his La Rochelle players has gone viral on social media.
O'Gara, renowned for his 128 caps with Ireland and 240 caps with Munster, was captured addressing his players prior to their Top14 semifinal against Bordeaux in June of the previous year, a match they emerged victorious from.
The video, which has amassed over 5 million views on social media, showcases the Cork native delivering an inspirational speech to his players in French. However, his unmistakable Cork accent is evident in the footage provided by French broadcaster Canal+.
O'Gara has been associated with the French rugby club since 2019 and has achieved consecutive Champions Cup triumphs over Leinster in both 2021 and 2022. It is evident that O'Gara has proficiently acquired the language for effective communication with his players, although English still finds its way into his discourse occasionally.
In the viral video snippet, the Munster legend is quoted as saying, "je m’en f*****g fous," which translates to "I don't f*****g care."
Forget Jim Telfer. This is the greatest Rugby Speech, EVER. ROG❤️ pic.twitter.com/GyklyF7vFn
— Jim Hamilton (@jimhamilton4) August 8, 2023
During the lasr year, the former Ireland outhalf shared with the Irish Sunday Mirror about his effors to learn the language. He candidly admitted that his players have played a pivotal role in aiding his progress.
He stated, "You’ve got to push yourself beyond the zone of making a fool of yourself for three months."
He continued, “I’d be in a situation where I didn’t have the words and needed a solution, so it would be like ‘help me here, boys’."
O'Gara emphasised, “But once you ask for help, people help.”
Additionally, he added, “I’m coaching in French but I don’t have to write emails in French... I just need to understand the vocabulary associated with getting my point across."
“You can talk 70% in French, 20% in English, and make it up for the other 10%."
O'Gara also lightheartedly noted, "The boys can have a good laugh at me trying to express myself in Cork French."
"I’d be in a situation where I didn’t have the words and needed a solution, so it would be like ‘help me here, boys’."
