As Ronan O'Gara reminded us on Off The Ball tonight, the last time the Ireland legend was at the Opera House was the day he was at a showing of the Gruffalo's Child when former head coach Declan Kidney rang him to let him know he would be dropped from the national team.
ROG was our very special guest for tonight's roadshow and kicked off the night with an insightful chat about the highs and lows of his own long and illustrious career.
"I reflect upon that quite often. It is odd," he said of Kidney and his predecessor Eddie O'Sullivan not having any role in the national setup once they left the head coach role.
"Is it their decision or is it someone else's decision? I don't know. Obviously it's no secret that [Kidney and I] had an up and down relationship but at the same time when you spend 20 years with a guy, there'll be days where I frustrated him and he would have frustrated me, but there's a deep line of respect there too because I was an out-half and he was my coach and we achieved a lot together. You don't forget that."
O'Gara also discussed his once tense relationship with Jonny Sexton and how that has changed into a friendship over the years.
Ger, O'Gara and Wooly on stage at the Opera House
ROG also chatted about his early experiences of coaching in France and also looked to the future, admitting that he would never rule out taking on a coaching role at Leinster despite his strong Munster background.
"Do I take [the Leinster backs job]? I haven't been offered it," he said, before continuing: "Course I would [work for Leinster]. I see things very differently now. Obviously Munster is my home, where I'd like to be head coach someday . But there will be big steps before you take that job, so for me there's an incredibly talented back-line in Leinster. Anyone who is serious about rugby would work with that back-line."
He also admitted that had he been asked the same question two years ago, it would not be a 'yes'.
A packed house here in the Opera House, ROG in full flow...#offtheball pic.twitter.com/R900zVkIi3
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) September 9, 2015
Listen to the full interview via the podcast player.
