Ronan O'Gara's cutting comments reveal uncomfortable truth for Wales
Say what you want about Ronan O'Gara, but the former Ireland fly-half knows what he wants.
"I haven't thought about that, to be honest with you," he said this week when asked about coaching Wales. "Without lacking humility, I would prefer Ireland, England or France."
There are top Test jobs that O'Gara would "bite people's hands off for", but clearly, in O'Gara's eyes, Wales isn't one of those.
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Cue the jokes.
Almost two years after Ken Owens admitted Wales were the laughing stock of the rugby world, here we are again as the punchline of sorts.
In fairness, you can't blame O'Gara for setting his sights high.
The La Rochelle coach, having masterminded back-to-back Champions Cup titles in 2022 and 2023, has long been destined for a move into Test coaching. It seems more a matter of when, rather than if. And he's got a CV that allows him to be picky with where he goes.
Of course, for a man who won 128 caps and kicked Ireland to a Grand Slam in Cardiff in 2009, there's obviously one job above all else he wants. Right now, though, the Ireland gig is held by Andy Farrell, who's doing a fairly decent job of it.
Mentioning England too, with all the pressure on Steve Borthwick, is significant. In fairness, O'Gara didn't just, in essence, turn up his nose at Wales.
Sure, they were the team he was asked about - understandably so, given the speculation around Warren Gatland's future in recent weeks. But, from his answer, he's also not that fussed about coaching Scotland or Italy.
So in that sense, it's probably not the kick in the teeth to Welsh rugby that it might seem. And, after all, on the face of it, who would blame him for not wanting the job.
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Wales are winless in their last 12 Tests, with few - if any - parts of the game in this country functioning properly. Consistently, off-field issues dominate, with most of the talk being around whether Wales have the quality to even get close to replicating past successes.
At a time when it's hard to find positivity anywhere in Welsh rugby, it's probably little surprise that O'Gara wouldn't bite your hand off to find a job on Westgate Street.
But then again, even with all the issues facing Welsh rugby, there's a sizable opportunity to turn things around - were the Welsh job ever to become available. To quote O'Gara himself, "L’opportunité est f*****g énorme".
For all the talk of the lack of talent, this squad is surely better than 12 consecutive defeats and 11th in the world. After all the negativity, there's a chance for someone to come in and improve things.
This isn't like replacing Gatland in 2019. There's no Grand Slam to emulate, no massive shoes to fill. Of course, that's not strictly true.
Even with how tough his second spell has been in terms of results, Gatland has been around long enough for opinions to be firmly set on him one way or the other. If you adore him or abhor him, you're pretty unlikely to change your mind now - regardless of how his second stint with Wales is going.
It's part of the reason the whole notion of him ruining his legacy in Wales probably doesn't even register with the man himself. He's still Wales' greatest coach in the eyes of many, while those who think otherwise won't be for turning anyway.
But, even with all that said, it's a cold hard fact that his recent results could be improved upon.
And, frankly, with everything else going on, whoever comes in is probably going to be judged fairly kindly anyway by those who look closely - even a minor upturn will look impressive when you're also plugging the various holes in the leaking dam.
And when I say those who look closely, I mean those without an emotional interest in Welsh rugby - like the suits in charge of appointing coaches in other unions.
Test jobs are limited, after all, and - like Graham Henry and Steve Hansen - Wales can be the springboard for someone ambitious to cut their teeth in international rugby. Granted, that's not where Welsh rugby would like to be, but it's perhaps as good as it can wish for now.
Ultimately, it all probably matters little. It's looking increasingly likely Gatland will remain in charge, at least for the Six Nations.
Until that changes, any talk of who comes in next is ultimately irrelevant. But while that possibility remains on the horizon, it's increasingly concerning that, taking O'Gara's comments at face value, Wales are barely an afterthought to a young head coach who is keen to break into Test rugby.
It's a small sample size, but if that's the case moving forward, then it's a very sorry story for Welsh rugby.
