Director of rugby Ronan O’Gara has won the Champions Cup twice with La Rochelle, but on Saturday they host his other great love, Munster, in the last 16 of this season’s competition.

As a player, O’Gara is a Munster icon, still their record point-scorer after a 16-year career there.

More pertinently, Ireland’s No 1 flyhalf at the time pulled the strings when they won the European Cup in 2005-06 and 2007-08.

The 48-year-old has since guided La Rochelle to back-to-back Champions Cup successes in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

“It’s a love story. It most definitely is,” O’Gara told reporters on Wednesday. “If you were to take a minute or five to reflect, it’s a fantastic story because it’s the two teams that have given me most in terms of rugby.

“There will be great craic, the place will be hopping, buzzing,” he added, with more than 2,000 Munster fans set to travel to the port town on the French Atlantic coast.

Despite O’Gara’s success in recent years, La Rochelle’s current form is worrying. They are without a win in eight games, with their last victory coming in January.

O’Gara’s men reached the knockout stage having won just half of their pool games with the competition’s format continuing to come under fire.

“We haven’t been in a mentally dominant position in terms of confidence,” O’Gara said. “Like winning becomes a habit, losing becomes a habit. We need to get back on track this weekend.”

Many will be happy the competition is now entering the business end after a much-criticised pool stage where some teams fielded weakened sides for games involving South African sides due to player welfare concerns.

In a reverse for those who argued successfully to include the South African teams, the Sharks, Bulls and Stormers all failed to reach the last 16.

Nevertheless the policy of selecting understrength sides is not over as three-time champions Saracens are planning on naming a second-string outfit to travel to Toulon.

Sarries have decided to rest England internationals Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Elliot Daly for the re-run of 2014’s final.

“They will all miss Toulon. We don’t have to do that but we will,” Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said. “We’re not going to send a pack of 18-year-olds out against Toulon, we’ll also give it a crack with absolutely nothing to lose.”

READ: Saracens ‘disrespecting’ Champions Cup

Elsewhere, Sale face a daunting trip to six-time winners and holders Toulouse who welcome back flyhalf Romain Ntamack for the first time since France beat Scotland to win the Six Nations title last month.

Benetton head to Castres in the Italians’ first knockout game in the top-tier tournament and Bordeaux-Begles, No 1 seeds from the pool stage, host Ulster.

Bordeaux were unbeaten in their pool, with 15 of their 33 tries coming from supersonic wingers Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who was named the Player of the Six Nations earlier this week.

Leinster, who have lost the last three finals, are expecting a crowd of more than 60,000 at Gaelic sport’s headquarters of Croke Park for Harlequins’ visit.

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Challenge Cup round-of-16 fixtures:
Friday
Edinburgh vs Lions (9pm)
Pau vs Bath (9pm)
Saturday
Bayonne vs Bulls (1.30pm)
Montpellier vs Gloucester (6.30pm)
Perpignan vs Racing 92 (9pm)
Connacht vs Cardiff (9pm)
Sunday
Lyon vs Sharks (6.30pm)
Ospreys vs Scarlets (6.30pm)

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