Donncha O'Callaghan says he would love to see Ronan O’Gara return to Munster in some capacity as a coach with the Irish province still seeking to add to their backroom team.
The La Rochelle head coach has made no secret of his desire to one day sit in the hotseat of the team he played from 1997 until 2013, but after building up his coaching CV at Racing 92 and the Crusaders, the Cork man landed his first solo gig with the Top 14 club last year.
O’Gara has been asked repeatedly about his interest in coaching Munster, but suggested it is not something that appeals in the short to medium term.
"At the minute, I don’t want to go back because I feel it’s making me better by not going back there," he said last July when discussing taking over the French club.
Munster’s current head coach Johann van Graan said today that the province is continuing to look for a fifth coach to add to their impressive backroom team.
While he admits it is an unlikely move, O’Callaghan told 2fm’s Game On he would love to see his former team-mate link up again with the province.
"The Munster man in me would love to see Ronan O’Gara back in some form coaching Munster in time. There is something right about ROG in time, but I don’t know if it is the right move for him yet because I know he wants to be the main man at the top of the bus calling the shots.
"It’s obviously an area he [Van Graan] feels could give them a point of difference. I'd say he’s head hunting a certain person for a certain role."
World Cup winners Stephen Larkham and Graham Rowntree, along with the highly respected defence coach JP Ferreira bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the coaching ticket, but O’Callaghan feels that a local feel would add to the quality already present.
"There is a brilliant strong coaching team there, but I’d love someone homegrown from the environment that knows the culture.
"I’m not taking away from the coaches there, but what was great about the Niall O’Donovans, the Declan Kidneys and Anthony Foleys was you would go to the wall for those guys because they knew what it meant to the area."
