Irish rugby legend Ronan O'Gara is accused of misogyny after old comments re-emerge in which he claimed 'the game is too complex' for women 'to have an input on'

Irish rugby legend Ronan O'Gara has been accused of sexism after old comments re-emerged in which he seemingly claimed the sport was 'too complex' for women. 

O'Gara, currently the head coach of La Rochelle, delivered the controversial remarks in an interview with the Irish Independent alongside his wife, Jessica Daly, in 2016.

The couple, who married in 2006, had discussed O'Gara's rugby career before the former fly-half joked his partner 'wouldn't have a clue what's going on' during games.

To the alleged admonishment of Daly, he then said: 'Well, if she was into rugby that much, it wouldn't work either, because some women do try and offer their opinion about the game, and the game is too complex for them to have an input on.'

O'Gara then added: 'No, but for a lot of them. It's very good to separate them.'

It is not entirely clear whether O'Gara had jokingly delivered the opinion or in fact been serious, but his controversial words have stirred up a storm on social media.

One account shared the divisive snippet from the interview and said: 'I would've thought this was a stitch up, but it's right there in print.

'Misogyny is a terrible look, Ronan.'

Another posted a picture of the print version of the article and sarcastically took aim at O'Gara for 'showing off his progressive credentials' to Irish Hello magazine. 

Mail Sport has approached La Rochelle for comment.

Ireland's third most-capped player, O'Gara is also his country's second highest points scorer, having earned 128 caps in total and won three Triple Crowns.

He spent the entirety of his senior career with Munster and won two Heineken Cups.

O'Gara and Daly share five children. Twins Rua and Molly were born in 2008 while their three sons - JJ, Zak and Max - were born in 2010, 2012 and 2014 respectively.