| La Rochelle (0) 7 |
| Tries: Sclavi |
| Ulster (0) 3 |
| Pen: Doak |
Ulster suffered another hugely deflating last-gasp defeat as holders La Rochelle scored a converted try with the final play of the game to win the European Champions Cup tie 7-3.
A second-half Nathan Doak penalty looked like earning the visitors their first European win of the campaign.
However, there was heartbreak for Dan McFarland’s men as Joel Sclavi crossed in the 80th minute for the hosts.
Under-pressure Ulster have now lost six of their last seven matches.
Both sides played out a fierce battle in extremely challenging conditions with a strong wind and lashing rain throughout at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre stadium.
Ulster worked tirelessly in defence for the last 15 minutes to keep out the holders, but their decision to kick for touch from a late penalty proved pivotal as it led to a drive from the forwards that set up prop Sclavi to score from close range.
It was a cruel on McFarland’s side, sporting eight changes from last week’s United Rugby Championship defeat by Benetton, after the amount of effort they put in to grabbing then defending their slender lead.
They had a try disallowed late in a tight and tense first half, during which they had the strong wind behind them, having just missed a good opportunity for five points minutes earlier.
Head coach McFarland said during the build-up to the game that he has full belief in his processes as the head coach despite the club’s poor form – and, despite losing twice to La Rochelle and once to Sale Sharks in their opening three Pool B games, they could still qualify for the knockout stages of the European competition with victory over Sale in Belfast next weekend.
They will hope to have captain Iain Henderson fit for that encounter after he appeared to limp off when substituted just after the hour in La Rochelle.
Ulster enjoyed the majority of possession in a first half that was a tight contest from the outset, with both sides struggling to control the ball in the challenging conditions.
The first opportunity for either side to register points on the scoreboard fell to Ulster when they chose to go for the posts from a long-distance penalty in the 24th minute, but Doak’s strike went just wide of the target.
The visitors lost Luke Marshall to injury two minutes later, with the centre – one of eight chances for McFarland from last weekend’s loss in Italy – replaced by Ben Moxham, who himself was a late addition to the bench after fly-half Billy Burns got injured in the warm-up.
Ulster twice thought they had scored a try in the final five minutes of the first half, with the efforts coming either side of home flanker Paul Boudehent being shown a yellow card for persistent fouling.
An excellent drive by the visiting pack looked like it would end with Kieran Treadwell getting over, but the flanker dropped the ball under pressure just short of the line.
Rob Lyttle touched down four minutes later after showing superb technique to kick the ball over the line, but the try was ruled out for a forward pass to Lyttle by Jacob Stockdale.
The momentum shifted in the hosts’ favour after the break but Ulster looked like they would cling on to that Doak penalty until the late Sclavi try.
Ulster: Lowry, Lyttle, Moore, Marshall, Stockdale, Madigan, Doak; Rory Sutherland, Herring, Toomaga-Allen, Alan O’Connor, Treadwell, Henderson (capt), Timoney, Vermeulen.
Replacements: Andrew, O’Sullivan, Warwick, Sheridan, McCann, McDonald, Burns, McIlroy.
La Rochelle: Paiva, Lagrange, Colombe Reazel, Dillane, Picquette, Bourdeau, Boudehent; Alldritt, (capt), Berjoni, Hastoy, Boudehent, Favre, Seuteni, Thomas, Dulin.
Replacements: Lespiaucq, Wardi, Sclavi, Sazy, Hatherell, Kerr-Barlow, Popelin, Rhule.
More to follow.
