O’Gara retires from playing rugby to coach Racing

Ireland’s record points scorer Ronan O’Gara has announced that he will retire from playing rugby and take up a coaching role at French Top 14 side Racing Metro.

The 36-year-old fly-half, who scored 1,083 points while wearing the Ireland jersey, is to become a kicking coach at Racing.

One of his main roles will be to coach the man who pushed him out of the Ireland side, Jonathan Sexton, who is to join Racing this summer from Leinster.

“I have ambitions in the years ahead to coach at a high level and, with this in mind, I can confirm now that I will be joining Racing Metro’s coaching staff in July,” O’Gara wrote in a column for the Irish Examiner.

O’Gara won 128 Ireland caps, played in three British and Irish Lions tours and won the European Cup twice with Munster during a glittering 16-year career.

Born in San Diego, California, O’Gara moved to Ireland when his family returned home while he was still young and he joined Munster in 1997.