Ronan O’Gara will not be England’s next head coach after the Irishman ruled himself out of the running, despite contact from the English RFU.
The RFU are currently looking for a successor to Eddie Jones, although whether they will replace the Australian as England head coach before or after next year’s Rugby World Cup remains to be seen.
O’Gara was recently reported to be on an RFU shortlist to be the next England head coach, and the Cork man has confirmed that he was contacted about the role.
However, O’Gara has revealed that he has ruled himself out of the running in his column for the Irish Examiner, while explaining that he hadn’t actually been offered the job.
Ronan O’Gara will not be England’s next head coach.
“I had contact from the RFU. It’s England,” O’Gara wrote.
“If you get offered a gig like that – and I wasn’t, to be accurate – then you have to give it due consideration until such time as someone else gets the job or you officially eliminate yourself from the race.
“That was done in a very amicable conversation this week; ‘I’m not sure if I am making your job easier or harder, but… etc etc.’ No hard feelings, we may meet again.”
Eddie Jones “disappointed” after Springboks defeat.
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 26, 2022
The Cork man is set to stay put.
O’Gara is expected to stay with La Rochelle for the foreseeable future, as French publication RugbyRama reported earlier in the week that he is set to sign a contract that will keep him at the club until 2027.
As for Eddie Jones, his future remains up in the air after England managed to win just five of their 12 test matches this year, which ended in a demoralising defeat to South Africa.
While O’Gara is no longer in the picture, Scott Robertson, Warren Gatland, Conor O’Shea and Steve Borthwick all remain as potential replacements.
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