Jordie Barrett gesture singled out by Ronan O'Gara after loss

Following his side’s 14-16 loss to Leinster on Sunday at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre in the Investec Champions Cup, La Rochelle boss Ronan O’Gara has praised Leinster full-back Jordie Barrett for his “classy gesture”.

In his first taste of Champions Cup action in France, Barrett and his Leinster side came away with a hard-fought win at the home of the 2022 and 2023 champions.

O’Gara took to social media on Sunday evening to thank the 68-cap All Black for gifting his soon the boots he wore on the west coast of France.

“Thank you Jordie Barrett. He will never get to wear size 46 but gone off to bed so happy… a classy gesture… Congratulations to Leinster… hopefully we get another go.”

Thank you Jordie Barrett.He will never get to wear size 46 but gone off to bed so happy…a classy gesture…Congratulations to ?@leinsterrugby? .. hopefully we get another go.?@staderochelais? pic.twitter.com/kukCNifCCY

— Ronan O Gara (@RonanOGara10) January 12, 2025

Barrett was originally selected to start on the bench in the round three fixture, but was promoted to the starting XV ahead of the match after Jordan Larmour was forced to withdraw with an injury. The 27-year-old played the full match as Leinster clung on to maintain their unbeaten record this season.

Despite the defeat, the double European champions are still well-placed to book a home berth in the round of 16, with a trip to face Benetton on Saturday. O’Gara is clearly aware of that, and finished his post off by adding “hopefully we get another go,” eyeing up a potential rematch in one of the competition’s newest but fiercest rivalries.

The Munster legend got the better of Leinster in both the 2022 and 2023 finals, but lost to them on two occasions last season- first at home in the pool stages and then at the Aviva Stadium in the quarter-finals.

Though La Rochelle have endured a patchy season to date, sitting in sixth place in the Top 14 standings, O’Gara said that he saw enough to make him “happy” when speaking to Premier Sports after the match.