Conor Murray unsurprised at Ronan O'Gara and Donnacha Ryan's coaching ascent

Conor Murray couldn't take any pleasure in seeing provincial rivals Leinster beaten in the Champions Cup final but the success of two former Munster team-mates certainly brought a smile to his face.

The Ireland scrum-half played inside Ronan O’Gara for three years before the now-La Rochelle coach called time on his Munster career in 2013.

Donnacha Ryan, forwards coach with the newly crowned European champions, soldiered for 13 seasons with the Reds before moving to Racing 92 in 2017 to finish out his playing days.

"It was unbelievably impressive, even before this ROG has done an incredible job on his coaching pathway whether in France, New Zealand and back again," Murray said, referring to O’Gara’s earlier coaching stints at Racing 92 and with the Crusaders.

"He seems to have created an unbelievable culture down there, it was class seeing them - whether Leinster won or lost wasn't important to us, we went out in the quarter-final - but in terms of the Munster contingent in La Rochelle it was unbelievably impressive, to see the culture he's created down there.

"To see him lift a European trophy again was pretty special.

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences "I'm happy for the way his coaching career has gone, he's taken it unbelievably seriously and has done it the hard way, he's learnt his trade, done his time and with Donners coming in.

"I'm sure it was an unbelievable challenge coming up against Leinster in a final like that, in a spectacle in Marseille and to come through you're delighted for the two lads, they