First person

Ronan O’Gara
Ronan O’Gara

Ronan O’Gara: 37, rugby coach, Paris

I hadn’t decided beforehand, but when I heard the final whistle [in last year’s Heineken Cup semi-final], something inside me said: “It’s time to go.”

It’s very tough [retiring from sport]. A close friend of mine just said: “Don’t announce you’re retiring; announce what you are doing next.”

I don’t know if moving to France was exciting; it was more of a coping mechanism.

When you play, you think you are so much more important than you actually are. When you are in Ireland, it’s all rugby, everywhere you go it’s just rugby, but that’s not the case in Paris.