Ronan O'Gara: 'We chatted, and not alone was he offended, I was offended'

Ronan O’Gara has expressed dismay at the exclusion of La Rochelle flyhalf Antoine Hastoy from France’s Guinness Six Nations squad.

La Rochelle admittedly struggled at the start of the Top 14 season with only one win in their first six matches and consecutive losses in their initial Champions Cup pool games. However, under O’Gara’s guidance, the team has recently found form, securing five victories in their last seven domestic games and earning significant European wins against Leicester and Sale to advance the defence of their title.

The omission by France’s head coach Fabien Galthie of Hastoy in the wider Six Nations squad is puzzling, especially as Romain Ntamack is unavailable. The decision is further questioned as Galthie introduced 21-year-old Léo Barré to the squad to address a fitness concern with the current first-choice flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert.

O’Gara’s frustration is palpable considering Hastoy’s contributions and the recent upswing in La Rochelle’s performances.

Writing in his Irish Examiner column this weekend, O’Gara addressed the snubbing: “Antoine Hastoy scored 20 points for us last Sunday in Sale. I think he may have had a point to prove after being excluded from the French 6N squad.

“Maybe if Romain Ntamack had been around I could accept if not fully understand it but to be left out of a squad in the circumstances Antoine was the biggest look-in-the-mirror moment he will ever get.

“We chatted, and not alone was he offended, I was offended. And the parting words didn’t even need to be ventilated: Now what are you going to do about it?”

France play Ireland in their opening game of the Six Nations in Marseille this coming Friday.