THEY MANAGED TO reduce a 28-point deficit between themselves and Toulouse in September to just seven last night at Kingspan Stadium, but Ulster head coach Dan McFarland wasn’t willing to point to progress as something to be positive about in the wake of their first defeat of the season.
An eight-game winning run – albeit all in the Guinness PRO14 – and a 25-game unbeaten streak at home came to an end as Ugo Mola’s galacticos stormed the fortress and became the first side to walk away with the maximum haul from Belfast since Saracens in November 2015.
And, perhaps more concerningly in the short-term, their top flight European aspirations also look to have gone from quietly promising to rather slim.
Sure, Ulster could win their remaining three games and steal into the knockouts at the death but, in reality, losing a home game in a normal six-game pool stage tends to be a death knell to knockout hopes, let alone in a shortened four-game pool stage. And especially so when you consider one of those games will come at the Stade Ernest-Wallon against the same opposition next month.
They’re in that position because they couldn’t take their chances against a ruthlessly efficient Toulouse outfit, who had that sprinkle of stardust in the feet of Antoine Dupont and Cheslin Kolbe that Ulster did not. Despite having more chances than their visitors – and an extra man for the final 10 minutes after Maxime Medard’s yellow card – the scoreline did not read in their favour come full-time.
Cheslin Kolbe scored two tries last night. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The performance was better than the one they turned in at the Ernest Wallon back in September, granted, but that counts little now. Last season’s competition is long gone – and now this season’s may be too.
“Does it come as any consolation? Not at the moment,” admitted McFarland, who cut an interesting figure when he stormed the pitch at the full-time whistle to confront touch judge Sean Gallagher over the lack of an offside call on Dupont prior to Toulouse’s third try – something he failed to elaborate on in post-match.
“We played a better game tonight (than in September). We weren’t as good as we can be, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Conditions were tricky but we did play some nice stuff. We had weapons tonight, and we didn’t have weapons in the quarter-final, nothing really went for us there.
“From a performance side, yes. Our analysis of that performance will be more detailed in terms of specifics that we can improve on for next week. In terms of the consolation, no. We’ve lost at home, and that’s not something we’re used to doing. I’m really frustrated, to be honest.”
The frustration undoubtedly stems from the added pressure that Ulster have begun to place on themselves. Not happy to simply be competing every so often with the ‘big boys’ of Europe, they now see themselves as one of the teams dining at the top table, and being unable to close out a victory at home will not sit well in the dressing room.
Neither will the fact they kept losing leads. It would have been one thing if they found themselves always chasing Toulouse, but instead McFarland’s men were 12-0 up after 15 minutes, then up by a point three minutes into the second half, and then back ahead with 24 minutes to play. On all three occasions, they failed to hold onto their advantage.
Sean Reidy and James Hume are dejected at the end of the game. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
And therein lies another hurdle that Ulster must clear to be perennial challengers in Europe, because the same happened in their 2019 quarter-final against Leinster and in this year’s PRO14 final – they have to learn how to convert leads into victories in the big games. Their squad depth issue is slowly but surely being addressed, now the mentality has to follow.
“If you see yourself as a team that can compete – we might not be able to consistently do that – but if you see yourself as a team that can compete and then you get so close, I think it’s hard not to focus on the things you should have done and the things you can do,” said McFarland in relation to this particular instance.
“It was difficult conditions and the game was slowed down a lot by a few injuries and this, that and the other, and it was a bit stacatto. We would have preferred not to do that. It’s much better for us when we can control the pace of the game. But there was a huge amount of effort there, and you can’t underestimate when you’re winning against guys with the size that they are, there’s a wear and tear on that.
“We lost two of our biggest players early in the second half, that’s difficult to cope with. But the guys put their bodies on the line for the whole game and it’s a real shame for them that we’ve lost at home.”
So with one loss already in the column, it means the trip to Kingsholm next Saturday simply has to result in a win if they still harbour any ambitions of reaching the last-eight of the Champions Cup.
On paper, that shouldn’t be a prospect that’s out of reach for the northern squad, and, regardless of whether they do think they can still progress, a victory would be an important bounceback going into three consecutive interprovincial games when they return to domestic action the following week with a trip to Galway to take on Connacht.
Matt Faddes and Matthis Lebel scramble for possession. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
While Northampton Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd said he would heavily rotate for their visit to Leinster next week after their home loss to Bordeaux-Begles, McFarland refuted the claim that he might do the same for the trip to Kingsholm, insisting “we’ll certainly be respecting the competition and we’ll be selecting accordingly”.
The former Connacht prop added of his side’s predicament: “Backs against the wall and stuck in the corner. That’s the nature of it. We still have to play Gloucester away from home, we still have to play Toulouse away from home, then Gloucester – who are an exciting side and have plenty of talent – have to come here. This period of seven games that we have coming up here, including interpros, is relentless.
“As far as the competition is concerned, yeah, it’s going to be really difficult (to qualify). My reckoning is it could easily be four wins to get into the quarter-final. Three wins may well do it, but you’re really hanging on or waiting to find out if it’s you who’s in.”
The province will have an anxious wait over the availability of lock Sam Carter and No.8 Marcell Coetzee for the trip to England after both had to go off for head injury assessments in the second half of last night’s game.
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'We've lost at home - that's not something we're used to. I'm really frustrated'
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