David Corkery: Munster need to forget the ROG factor and focus on winning the game only

Sixteen. 

The amount of years Ronan O’Gara spent with Munster. 

Two hundred and forty, the sum of times he pulled a red jersey over his head with a view to guiding his team mates to victory, and 2,625. the amount of points he amassed whilst he weaved his magic and plotted the down fall of so many great teams whilst representing his native province with such pride and distinction.

Yes, Ronan O’Gara’s name will be imbedded in the historical archives of Munster and Irish rugby forever and a day, however, the only hat he will be wearing on Saturday will be coloured black and yellow and you can be damn sure that the former Irish great will have left no stone unturned in looking to send the Munster players home with nothing but a frown on their faces.

You see, in order to have amassed the kind of figures I quoted in the opening paragraph you need to have a certain kind of instinct flowing through your veins. 

The kind of instinct that most people don’t even know exists. I would even go as far as to say that most people wouldn’t even know where they could start looking for it, even if they did know it did exist.

Pride, fear, determination, family, sacrifice, ruthlessness and acceptance are all elements of the drive that flows through O’ Gara’s veins however, the one that most people neglect whilst they are trying to be the best in their chosen field is discipline, and this is where O’Gara stands head and shoulders above all the rest.

Now that I’m a bit older and I’d like to think a bit wiser from my own playing days, discipline for me isn’t about staying on side, holding my temper or refraining from calling the ref an expletive.

Today, discipline represents the practice of training yourself to do what needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like doing it. 

It’s about setting goals that are incredibly hard to achieve, creating routines and sticking to them, no matter what obstacles lie in your path.

I can tell you now that nothing worth fighting for in life is achievable without discipline and I think we will see many aspects of this tomorrow when these two sides who O’Gara has helped shape go at it as if their very lives depended upon winning.

Even though both Stade Rochelais and Munster are currently a distant cry away from playing their best rugby, all that will matter tomorrow is the eighty minutes that lie in front of the players when they take to the field.

The European Cup is the competition that has truly defined these two sides in the modern era and such is the magic that winning has bestowed upon the teams and their supporters, they will truly believe that they once again can go all the way and have another star embordered on to their jerseys for next season.

Last weekend as Munster were battling away against Connacht in MacHale Park, Stade Rochelais were in the process of suffering their seventh defeat in eight games in their domestic Top 14 competition.

A raft of injuries and a strange loss of form now sees Stade Rochelais lying in 10th position in their domestic league table and with only six games remaining their chances of making the knock out stages are looking precarious and this is something that Munster must feed off and use to their advantage.

The return of some key players to the Munster stable could not have come at a better time and if there was ever an occasion that traveling to and winning in France was achievable, this has to be it.

Craig Casey, Jean Kleyn, Oli Jager all helped Munster get over the line last Saturday and steered them away from a trio of URC losses on the bounce and now that Peter O’Mahony, Thaakir Abrahams and Jack O’Donoghue are also available, Munster must walk through the gates of Stade Marcel Deflandre with a good degree of confidence.

A good start would really help Munster’s cause on this occasion because the last thing they want to do is allow their hosts regain some of their confidence.

Irrespective of the form that O’Gara’s side are currently playing with, it would not take long for them to rekindle the kind of captivating and all-encompassing rugby that saw them be crowned champions of Europe in the 2021–22, 2022–23 seasons.

As sure as night follows day, O’Gara will target the Munster scrum and even though the Munster props are no spring chickens, they have an abundance of experience that they can call upon to repel whatever the French eight will throw at them.

If the partnership of Jack Crowley and Craig Casey can deliver an 8 out of 10 performance and the Munster bench can furnish us with an impactful contribution, Munster can win this game, but if they drop their guard for any prolonged period, O’Gara will have a road map devised where he’s players will use to rip Munster apart.

Do not miss this occasion!