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Ronan O'Gara reunion game 'massive for everybody' says Munster coach Mossy Lawler

While there's URC business to attend to first for Munster, Ronan O'Gara and La Rochelle are there in the background.

They always seem to be.

Munster have had to take a back seat for the last decade, latterly watching La Rochelle and Leinster build up a special rivalry in Europe and claiming three titles between them in the last seven years.

They’ll talk all day about being 'next-game focused' and 'just taking it game-by-game' but bubbling away under the surface is the chance to strike a Champions Cup blow and recall the glory days when O’Gara led them to the promised land.

There are five league ties and a Six Nations to enjoy first but the natural romance of Munster heading to France to take on their former out-half means it's inevitable that the last-16 clash, the first time the sides have met, will take on a life of its own.

"It's massive for everybody," Munster skills coach Mossy Lawler, who played 67 times for the club between 2001 and 2008, told RTÉ Sport.

"There's a tradition there with Rog in relation to what he has achieved here, but they are two unbelievably massive clubs who have huge pedigree in Europe.

"Both have won it. La Rochelle are champions for the last couple of years [2022, 2023].

"Massive, fanatical fan base on both sides, great place to go and visit.

"So, when we do get to April and that game does come up, it's going be massively exciting."

Munster’s European record since winning titles in 2006 and 2008 has been poor; they reached semi-finals in 2018 and 2019, and the quarter-final in 2022.

How long does Lawler reckon it will take to take Munster, currently without a permanent head coach, to reach their previous levels?

"I suppose we don't look at it like that," he says.

"We're just working week-to-week to get

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