Ronan O’Gara’s expletive-laden, Irish-French rugby union team talk goes viral

Ronan O'Gara, the former Ireland international who coaches French club La Rochelle, has lit up the internet with a pep talk to his team that seamlessly blended French with English swearing, graced with a Cork accent.
Subscribe to Guardian Sport ► bit.ly/GDNSport
The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► bit.ly/3uhA7zg
Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► theguardian.com/first-edition
Website ► www.theguardian.com
Facebook ► / theguardian
Twitter ► / guardian
Instagram ► / guardian
The Guardian on KZbin:
The Guardian ► bit.ly/guardiannewssubs
Guardian News ► bit.ly/guardiannewssubs
Guardian Australia ► bit.ly/guardianaussubs
Guardian Football ► bit.ly/gdnfootballsubs
Guardian Live ► bit.ly/guardianlivesubs
#LaRochelle #French #Rugby #OGara #Cork #News

[@belsonicboom1109]

What an inspirational line to finish a team talk! “I train the F@#€ing best team in the world, now show it to me” 👊🏻

[@michelcoicaud6888]

Génial. Ça c'est un chef, un très grand.

[@jetblackhair92]

The swear words made me understand French a little bit easier though 😂

[@johnmc3862]

😂

[@naturearoundtheworld2425]

😂😂

[@ConorD1990]

Same it gave me something to build the sentence around I guess.

[@stuarth43]

moi aussi, mais ne jouer pas Le Rugby ah rugby the greatest game dans le monde entier, ferk yeah

[@schnozz87]

​@@ConorD1990yeah you work backwards from the swear words, piece it together with the half dozen French words I actually understand and it all sort of makes sense 😂

[@EXTREME4YEARSTOCOME]

Leaving cert French orals be like:

[@innocentprincess1514]

😂😂😂

[@tyronefox3528]

Fact!! 😂😂

[@johnnyryan656]

Brilliant 😂

[@daysofmkty3029]

Stop

[@alexbellin8197]

You would've thought this was a before a game, not a training session. What a fabulous leader.

[@paulpurves484]

Total legend I didn’t think it was possible for him to go up in my estimation but he’s smashed it, what a top lad.

[@louisekirwan7172]

He is an absolute legend - priceless!

[@sumboi2321]

it's easy to see why O'Gara played in a golden generation for Ireland and Munster, as well as why he's an Irish rugby legend. There's no egos in that La Rochelle team, just 23 players looking to be the best in the world

[@pascalanglard2604]

A great player, coach and french speaker !! An irish wonder 😊

[@aidygooner]

Treat adults like adults, not pampered kids. 👏👏

[@amt4628]

Excuse my French has a whole new meaning! 😂

[@stabcitySB]

Hahahahah ah man, well said.

[@DavidWilliams-uw4xf]

Bravo Ronan, il fait de la discipline!

[@paulturner9765]

Ronan. At his brilliant best….How to motivate a team. 1:25

[@fredrik8500]

Source: dude just trust me

[@monkeybudge]

@@fredrik8500 Would the team winning a final provide a source for the claim

[@fredrik8500]

@@monkeybudge in the words of a true baller: "motivation comes from within. It comes from who you are, your DNA, your background and what you stand for"

[@monkeybudge]

@@fredrik8500 That’s funny, because thats pretty much his exact philosophy. To let the players be themselves and who they are. You should look up his interview with rugby pass about 3 weeks ago

[@HtutWin]

Now that's a coach.

[@Sean-qo8dj]

Emily in Paris would look like this if you’d put an irish caracter

[@johnmc3862]

Vive le Cork!

[@user-eo7gl4yq2u]

Ronan O Gara surprises me a lot. Wont be shocked if he coaches Ireland one day

[@briangarvey2202]

Oh man that will be scenes

[@seanriain]

Not a chance

[@Spud607]

His French is more understandable than his English I'd say 😂😂😂

[@MarcoIdolo]

Some people laugh at him speaking but that's actually incredible, he speaks with confidence, very nice.

[@TheSMILINGJOE]

Pardon my French...

[@stabcitySB]

Just imagine you play for La Rochelle and ROG says he’s coaching “the best team in the world”… if that doesn’t fill you with certainty I don’t know what will.

[@hdg0pc70]

Passion from Ronan.

[@TPRM1]

It’s “La Ronan” now.

[@iannsinger5760]

Genuinely helpful for learning French

[@pheasantplucker6117]

Love it . Nice one Roj

[@Uxuh10]

The French cork accent is gas

[@SpaceMonkeyGVTV]

trop bon!

[@mildman1682]

Honestly, he just sounds like he's from Quebec.

[@canadianmadduck8932]

C'est presque notre Langue ici. Québec!

[@thehighlander959]

What I like is... He does not suffer Fools gladly.

[@Natedawg38]

Really want this guy on Irelands coaching ticket

[@fleshen]

I wish he had been my French Teacher at school it would have been easir!

[@LeMerch]

CORKONIAN FRENCH!

[@thomashernandez8700]

What? Cork?

[@LeMerch]

@@thomashernandez8700 oui, he is from Cork in Irlande

[@adrianogara9756]

Epic!

[@patfarget-nm3mt]

French is my mother tongue and I understood everything even without subtitles... when it comes from the heart and the guts and without pretense.... Shaun Edwards in the French team has more work but the same principle applies..... 👍😂

[@willslingwood]

Fact! English people think there’s a problem with his French because he doesn’t regard the language as a joke. French and Irish people just see a fella from Cork delivering a solid talk.

[@GG-tc8cr]

Legend

[@eamonlyons8318]

Cannot wait until he's Ireland coach. World Cup every 4 years

[@quentinquentin6752]

He should have been coaching England but they went with Borthwick. Well we know how that worked out!! He knows how to get the most out of a team. La Rochelle are a transformed team.

[@zombievikinggaming4258]

​@@BaBa-uh2sjA job is a job. O'Gara is a professional

[@EclecticSceptic]

@@zombievikinggaming4258 Doubt it. He wouldn't shake the Queen's hand (fair play to him), plus he has other options.

[@vicvicking1990]

​​@@EclecticScepticWell he would have to dig the hand out first

[@philbotherobot]

Class

[@condorone1501]

I'm Fluent in French now.😂

[@anarchocyclist]

What balls that guy must have to yell at a room of athletes in below A1 french

[@stephenevans6241]

nailed it!

[@HvonC]

He should join the legion - make a great Caporal Chef!

[@finbarrcorcoran9342]

Close your eyes and imagine Roy Keane speaking French....

[@celticwinter09]

That's not his job

[@carmelhegarty9829]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🙏🇮🇪🙏

[@liamvisser2798]

You can see how this turns into Quebecois almost. Irishmen speaking french over time adds the twang to Quebecois.

[@stabcitySB]

Are you Quebecois? That is such a sharp observation bro. Like Newfoundland & Labrador to the northeast, who have Irish-esque pronunciation of English. That is a wicked sharp observation. Very cool 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

[@liamvisser2798]

@@stabcitySB so funny story my mum is born and raised in MTL of Irish heritage… I’d hear her speak French and I see similarities between this video and her french

[@stabcitySB]

@@liamvisser2798 that is so cool man! How you picked up on those subtleties based on an Irish fella speaking French and probably not perfect French according to French speakers but certainly better than mine haha. That is mightily impressive, credit to you!

[@gregorygout]

I am glad somebody else noticed this...I am a French living in Ireland and when I tried to explain to some local friends he sounded French Canadian sometimes they were incredulous

[@unakennelly]

​@@stabcitySBI watched a true crime programme from St. John's once, and their accents were pure Tipperary/Waterford. Couldn't believe it.

[@timkelliher2453]

legend

[@ben4216]

He's got the accent down pat.

[@paulofollowtheredsohes5180]

It's franglais, very intéressant speach

[@stevenbissett]

Charming character.

[@LeMerch]

The fighting irish.. you guys kicked the brits out during their empire... kudos and respect

[@Spud607]

SIUUUUUU

[@CaptNeeda]

Doing him a disservice - he’s a much more nuanced and intelligent man to be labelled as such

[@Spud607]

@CaptNeeda it's something we're proud of, though. Cork man like him, I can guarantee he wouldn't be too miffed with that statement. We call it rebel country in Ireland for a reason.

[@sheronasims6783]

Just like the Vietnamese did to you and Algeria. Oh wait? France had a nasty old empire too did they? 😳

[@darkstarr2321]

Proper, especially coming from a Frenchman who had quite a large empire themselves. Also not quite accurate as NI is still part of the UK @@bsell5175

[@bennyksmusicalworld968]

I didn’t know I needed to hear French with a very heavy Irish accent but here I am on this side of KZbin 😂

[@Padraigcoelfir]

Send this bloke in Canada and we would say he is a true born Canadian.

[@Padraigcoelfir]

New-Brunswick French may sound a lot, I mean a whole lot like that. Or any bilingual Canadian that learnt French from an English background. Really close to Quebec French too.

[@TheyCallMeDr_J]

All that was missing was the Tabarnac and Câlisse

[@Headhunter_212]

Bon Mec.

[@DavidR-hg3lp]

Send him some poutine ...... CANADA needs a coach like that

[@Padraigcoelfir]

Absolutely, I am pretty sure he could coach the Maple Leafs to get the Stanley cup, Last time they won it, I wasn't born. @@DavidR-hg3lp

[@patsheridan5096]

The translation was kind to him!

[@ewangent]

Sounds almost Québécois

[@jzlmp266]

😂😂😂😂 proper hilarious, your a legend Rogy😂😂😂

[@Woodyjims-shack]

Haven't a clue what he was saying. But I know what he meant!

[@Wolf-hh4rv]

what language is that?

[@decdillon7389]

👏👏👏👏

[@Raisonnance.]

Ce n'est pas si mauvais ! On comprend suffisamment

[@SMacCuUladh]

ca suffit!

[@honestdeal7426]

Ronan please come back to Ireland.

[@matthewmccandless6410]

Its like the policeman from Allo Allo..😂😂

[@patrickenright3874]

England need a coach like him

[@theleesidesnowman1127]

I don’t think you’ll get a cork boy to do it tho

[@alcoyne3333333333333]

No way . He'll take over from Andy in a few year's

[@JoostMehrtens]

One who speaks French? Why?

[@zombievikinggaming4258]

​@@alcoyne3333333333333Unless somehow Ireland win the World Cup, then you won't see Andy out of a job to at least another World Cup cycle

[@abdvs325]

​@@zombievikinggaming4258 Surely Andy's destined for the England job after Ireland win the world cup

[@dondestura4720]

sounds he's from Montreal?

[@emmanueljf7059]

La quête immense du bouclier de Brennus, le graal du rugby.

[@michealjones9863]

speaking in tongues. French English Irish, there was a cupla focail in there for everyone.

[@cigh7445]

Cúpla focal a gharsún, (or should I say garçon?)

[@MrAhuapai]

No need for subtitles to get the point of what O'Gara was talking about.

[@KnuxDeluxe]

More passionate than any Rugby League talk... Not sure how this bloke missed the tall ships down south

[@MOSSFEEN]

How to speak French like a Cork Feen Part 1 Tres Bien

[@ConorD1990]

Tell me you are from Cork without saying your are from Cork....

[@TheLastAngryMan01]

What’s the French word for beure? ;)

[@Shamo-yc4vy]

And that was just before training😂

[@raypurchase1239]

Leader.

[@mattmeade983]

I hope there’s a translator to help the poor French lads understand that…

[@gazzarooosh]

Did they win?

[@SMacCuUladh]

bien sur

[@francoisdutoit6094]

Wow, didn't know I could understand Gaelic!

[@dhalsim-1]

French with bad language in a cork accent. Perfect combination.

[@user-ne1gp5xk8z]

HILARIOUS😅

[@lawrencewinter]

Haha, this is proper

[@NorthernStare]

I can see this man managing England to a grand slam some day, after he's won 6 with Ireland

[@WestAuckland_islander]

French with a Irish accent 🤨

[@quentinquentin6752]

You expect him to switch to a Parisian or Brittany accent ?

[@WestAuckland_islander]

@@quentinquentin6752 nah not really

[@stuarth43]

moi aussi, mais ne jouer pas Le Rugby ah rugby the greatest game dans le monde entier, ferk yeah

[@douglasyoung9320]

If only they taught French like that when I was at school.

[@raymonddixon7603]

Unfortunately they were destroyed!!!

[@ed7384]

Great coach even better comedian

[@markwillies7666]

He just needed to be wearing a beret, holding a baguette, pouring a glass of red wine, having a plate of fromage in front of him and smoking an unfiltered Gauloises, shrugging his shoulders and the transition to Frenchess would have been completed.

[@red-one5923]

Bro stop it

[@columkenn]

And maybe a fine handlebar moustache)

[@geoffaldwinckle1096]

How to make the french laugh

[@tibsky1396]

On the contrary, it's appreciated. Someone who's trying will always be praised, even if he keeps a thick accent.

[@willslingwood]

It’s not “Irish-French”?

[@KarenMariaMcCormack]

Hiberno-Franglais

[@Taidgh17]

Shishkin will get the hc job after farrell

[@barrysamson5139]

There's even an Irish lilt in Ronan's French.

[@Emtrax.]

Have you ever heard a french person speak english in an english accent, but with french apparently you have too.

[@Driver2616]

What?

[@Emtrax.]

@@Driver2616 I thought I explained that fairly well. When a French person speaks english, they still speak in a French accent. So what's the problem if someone who speaks english, speaks French in a non French accent.

[@Driver2616]

@@Emtrax.: Sorry Eoin. So what you’re saying is that when ROG speaks French he speaks it with the accent of a langer…..

[@Emtrax.]

@@Driver2616 Exactly

[@mtw9471]

He's no Andy Farrell

[@thelolguy007]

Imagine if this was the Irish soccer girls, he’d be fired 🤣🤣🤣 Go ROG 👏👏👏👏👊

[@TPRM1]

Well yeah, because he’d be speaking the wrong language.

[@daggaboom]

@@TPRM1about the wrong game.

[@Paulfieldz]

I'm gonna go out on a wild card here, but if a Coach spoke down to me it wouldn't provoke the warrior instinct in me I say this as an Irish man

[@LeMerch]

At what point did he speak down to any individual. Also, that just means you're weak and wouldn't be able to last on an elite sports teams because you can't handle your emotions.

[@KhanyoMjamba]

Excuse his French

[@TheyCallMeDr_J]

Quebecois or Northern Ontario, Canada dialect for sure!!! 😅

[@anthonyrevins4622]

Corque

[@michaelschultz3230]

Duncan McRae

[@nigelp4328]

Duolingo?

[@seanoreilly1734]

French with a cork accent😂

[@leoniekeohane3932]

The

[@999andyb]

it needs a bit more, " we are excited, we want to get better., we are on a journey ....did I mention we are excited?"...

[@runTommie]

He should tell the whole team: “Je suis très excité!” That’ll get their attention.

[@ferdinandimposter691]

J'ai un chien et un cochon d'inde. Je joue au football gaelique aussi

[@antonellaluque4532]

Comical haha

[@Driver2616]

What a f…ing bluffer!!!