Donnacha Ryan extends contract at Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle
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Donnacha Ryan recently extended his contract at La Rochelle – bringing his spell at the Top 14 club in line with the rest of the staff, including head coach Ronan O’Gara.
Ryan – with scrum coach Gurthro Steenkamp, defence coach Romain Carmignani and attack coach Sebastien Boboul – stays at Marcel Deflandre until 2027.
On the whole, however, La Rochelle have been near-silent on rugby’s transfer market, focusing on retention over recruitment.
Veteran lock Kane Douglas, moving from Bordeaux, was the only new arrival announced after the window officially closed on July 1. But 18 senior players, including Ultan Dillane, Will Skelton, Jack Nowell, Thomas Berjon, and Antoine Hastoy, have signed extensions – as have 11 from the academy: notably Hugo Reus and Nathan Bollengier.
There was brief confusion, after Bordeaux announced and then retracted news that their international centre Tani Vili was leaving for a new start with O’Gara’s squad.
