Brendan McGilligan
There are people who look alike enough that you’d be forgiven for thinking they may have been separated at birth.
And in September 2020, Donnacha Ryan was shocked to learn that Racing 92 had discovered her doppelgänger and that he too played for the same team.
The Ireland international looked at the screen as his name was called out to those racing that day and saw a slightly different image of where he should be.
Amazingly, his twin was Teddy Thomas.
Ryan joked. “I remember seeing that.
“In racing, you used to put your name and graphics on billboards. I don’t know if this is a joke, but there was another guy named Teddy who did all the marketing stuff.
“Obviously he did it for a laugh. I don’t know if he was trying to hit him (Teddy Thomas) or me, but it was really funny when I saw it, but it’s definitely always been a dream of mine to play on the wing.”
The former Ireland international has not played on the wing during his career due to the importance of the lock position throughout his career.
He was a vital cog during Munster rugby’s golden era as a member of the 2008 Champions Cup winning squad, 2009 Celtic League and 2011 Magners League winning squads.
Looking back on his career
This would be a major highlight in any rugby player’s career, but the 41-year-old has never really reflected on his career and the successes it has had.
Ryan said: “I’ve been fortunate to meet some really great people throughout my career.
“I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I could at home. It was probably too full and I probably took it too seriously. And when we came to France, we didn’t lose our competitive edge. I still wanted to gain something, but I definitely saw the bigger picture: meeting great people along the way, learning new things, languages, cultures and new friends.”
Currently an assistant coach at La Rochelle, he draws on all of his experience during his career and teachings from some of the world’s elite in rugby coaching, including Joe Schmidt, Andy Farrell and Rassie Erasmus.
With his playing career coming to an end in 2021, Ryan didn’t want to leave the sport he had loved his entire life, so when he was offered the opportunity to work with former teammate Ronan O’Gara, he jumped at the opportunity.
“Racing actually offered me another year, but I was 38 and old arthritis was a killer, so I was thinking about leaving,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of fun and I’m always grateful for the opportunity to coach.
Post Play Experience
“He (O’Gara) has created a great culture and legacy here at the club and it’s been a very enjoyable experience.
“When you finish playing rugby, you really have a part of yourself cut away from you. And I still have the good fortune to have a front row seat to watching and working with some of the best players in the world. I can try and ensure they do their best.
“I really love what I do. I’d say it’s the closest thing to a drug. You get what you get by pushing, pushing, pushing every week, and I understand why because when I was playing, the coaches had their doubts about how it was going to go, but they couldn’t take their feet off it. ”
It’s common for individuals to be optimistic when starting a new career, but no matter how optimistic Ryan was, he could never have believed that his first two years of coaching would help him achieve back-to-back Champions Cup wins.
ambitions for silverware
However, a year without silverware with La Rochelle gave everyone at the club an extra push to bring success back to the club, with a special interest in securing the club’s first Top 14 title.
He said: “Progress is never linear. We could be up one week and down the next week. Our challenge is to build consistency each week.
“It’s a big challenge. We were disappointed when we lost the final against Toulouse two years ago. We learned a lot about ourselves through this and there was a change in momentum throughout the season.
“It’s only mid-season, but we’re constantly trying to build momentum, get the guys up to speed and gain confidence in how we play.”
Read more: Levani Botia – My wife didn’t know I was a rugby player until she saw me on TV.
