Ronan O’Gara will take his first trip back to Thomond Park in a working rugby capacity in his role as defence coach for French champions Racing 92 after they were drawn alongside Munster in Pool 1 during the Champions Cup draw in Neuchatel today.
The former Lions, Ireland and Munster outhalf won two Heineken Cups with Munster, making 240 appearances during his 16-year playing career for the province and scoring 2,625 points. He joined Racing in July 2013 and last month watched his new club beat Toulon in the French Top 14 final.
Munster’s other pool rivals are familiar foes, Leicester Tigers, with whom the Irish province has so much history including a European final defeat at Twickenham in 2002, and Gregor Townsend’s Glasgow Warriors; the latter edged past Munster in the 2015 Guinness Pro12 final.
Connacht, who memorably won the Pro12 last month, will renew acquaintances with French rugby aristocracy Toulouse, whom they beat in Toulouse, two seasons ago. Wasps, who defeated Leinster home and away in last season’s Champions Cup pool stages and twice former European champions, and Italian side Zebre make up the rest of Pool 2.
Leinster have also been reunited with some clubs from their past, not least the Northampton Saints whom they beat in a Heineken Cup final at the Millennium stadium in 2011, inspired by the words and deeds of Jonathan Sexton.
The Irish province play Montpellier in the 2011-2012 season drawing 16-16 away and then beating the French side 25-3 at home. Leinster have faced Castres six times in Europe winning on five occasions and losing once; it was during Michael Cheika’s time as coach.
Ulster have been handed the trickiest set of assignments, drawing two French clubs, Clermont Auvergne and Bordeaux-Begles and last season’s runners-up in the Aviva Premiership, the Exeter Chiefs. In terms of the Chiefs it’ll give a couple of their players, the Belfast-born pair of Gareth Steenson and Ian Whitten, a chance to play at the Kingspan stadium.
