Ronan O'Gara shows true colours as Johnny Sexton's 'coward' claim is put to him

O'Gara was read extracts from Sexton's new book, which have caused a stir

Ronan O'Gara has issued a classy response to incendiary extracts from Johnny Sexton's autobiography about their relationship.

Sexton recalled a number of confrontations between the two over the years, including two incidents from Leinster v Munster matches in 2009, which saw the pair exchange words and almost come to blows.

O'Gara was labelled "a coward" by Sexton, who recounted a meeting between the teams at Thomond Park.

“The real flare-up started when I went to clear out Lifeimi Mafi after he’d tip-tackled Chris Whitaker,” he wrote. “I caught him above the eye with a stud by accident and he retaliated. A few fists were thrown.

“Paul O’Connell was quick on the scene, asking Mafi who’d caused the gash above his eye. Suddenly I have Paulie pointing the finger at me and giving me a mouthful. A scary sight. I squared my shoulders at him, but from a safe distance.

“With Paulie there for protection, O’Gara was also in my face: “What the f*** are you doing?” I responded by shaping to punch him, just drawing my fist back. When he winced, I called him a coward. That really set him off.

“Call me a coward? 'You’re nothing! You’re useless! A nobody!'

“It soon broke up, but I stored his words in a place where they could fester.”

Sexton would go on to confront O'Gara later that season after Leinster's Heineken Cup semi-final victory, in scenes that saw him heavily criticised for unsportsmanlike behaviour at the time. Sexton said O'Gara's previous description of him as "useless, a nobody" played over and over in his head for weeks. Following that match, O'Gara told Sexton to "f*** off".

Appearing on the Off the Ball rugby show, O’Gara was actually read extracts from the book, but chose against stoking old tensions, saying: “When was that? 15 years ago, is it? If you were to ask me honestly what was said, I’ve no idea, you know?”

“You’re talking about a good guy. He’s a good guy. I understand he’s recapping his early days with me, our relationship…all that kind of stuff. I firmly believe he has a good heart.”

The two men most recently exchanged words after O'Gara's La Rochelle beat Leinster in the European Champions Cup final last year - a match that left Sexton fuming.