Murray Kinsella
Reports from Stade Marcel-Deflandre
ULSTER HEAD COACH Dan McFarland said he was proud of his players after they were beaten by a late, late La Rochelle try in France.
McFarland also said his team should have been awarded a penalty try in the first half.
The Irish province led 3-0 as the clock ticked into the red at Stade Marcel-Deflandre but they weren’t able to cling on as Joel Sclavi bashed over for the winning try in La Rochelle’s 7-3 victory.
It means Ulster have lost six of their last seven games, including all three of their matches in the Champions Cup, although their hopes of reaching the Round-of-16 are not dead with a home clash against Sale to come next weekend.
Tonight was particularly heartbreaking because Ulster delivered an improved performance that saw them come within seconds of downing the reigning European champions at their home ground.
When asked if Ulster would take something from their performance in France, McFarland insisted that his team have not been far off in recent weeks.
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“If I said yeah, the implication would be that in the other games we hadn’t had the effort but the nature of the game led to the kind of attitude that I see week in, week out from the guys,” said McFarland.
“It was really obvious there. The bottom line is I was really proud of what they produced. It’s heartbreaking, 100%. We’ve lost a game right at the end, but the bottom line is they’re European champions for a reason.
“They won that game, I don’t think we lost that game. They won because when they needed to, they produced the goods. I was 100% proud of the effort the guys put in. That was tough going and I thought they were excellent.”
In a game of fine margins, Ulster coming up empty-handed from an extended period of pressure close to the La Rochelle tryline just before half time proved to be pivotal.
McFarland believes Ulster should have had a penalty try during that passage.
Mike Lowry and Ulster head home disappointed. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“When I look back on it, that period around 35 minutes when we’re completely dominating them five metres from their line, I believe should have been a penalty try and they got a yellow card,” said McFarland. “That’s effectively the difference.
“We had our moment when we were dominant and they offended so many times on those mauls that I think it should have been a penalty try. When they had theirs five metres out they dominated enough to get the score and that’s the difference.
“When the opposition are that messy, throwing bodies in all over the place, it’s very difficult to referee. That’s how La Rochelle defend mauls, it is messy, a lot of it is illegal, but I thought that we had so much dominance there that it should have been spotted.”
McFarland was pleased with how his players responded to the wholesale changes he had made to his starting XV ahead of this game.
“We talked before the game about opportunities to play Champions Cup away in France against huge clubs, those are career moments, they make memories,” he said.
“The talk before was that this will be a memory, and it will be. Guys will remember this for a long time as a night when we were 60 seconds away from beating the European champions in their home ground. It’s all the more relevant because of the backdrop of what we’re coming through.
“It would have been a different backdrop if we were coming in having won six games in a row and we’re not. It’s difficult and yet we churn out another performance full of effort and no little smarts in that second half. I thought the forwards were magnificent in that second half. I thought Nathan Doak controlled the game really well in that second half.”
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'They won that game, I don't think we lost that game. I was 100% proud'
ULSTER HEAD COACH Dan McFarland said he was proud of his players after they were beaten by a late, late La Rochelle try in France.
McFarland also said his team should have been awarded a penalty try in the first half.
The Irish province led 3-0 as the clock ticked into the red at Stade Marcel-Deflandre but they weren’t able to cling on as Joel Sclavi bashed over for the winning try in La Rochelle’s 7-3 victory.
It means Ulster have lost six of their last seven games, including all three of their matches in the Champions Cup, although their hopes of reaching the Round-of-16 are not dead with a home clash against Sale to come next weekend.
Tonight was particularly heartbreaking because Ulster delivered an improved performance that saw them come within seconds of downing the reigning European champions at their home ground.
When asked if Ulster would take something from their performance in France, McFarland insisted that his team have not been far off in recent weeks.
“If I said yeah, the implication would be that in the other games we hadn’t had the effort but the nature of the game led to the kind of attitude that I see week in, week out from the guys,” said McFarland.
“It was really obvious there. The bottom line is I was really proud of what they produced. It’s heartbreaking, 100%. We’ve lost a game right at the end, but the bottom line is they’re European champions for a reason.
“They won that game, I don’t think we lost that game. They won because when they needed to, they produced the goods. I was 100% proud of the effort the guys put in. That was tough going and I thought they were excellent.”
In a game of fine margins, Ulster coming up empty-handed from an extended period of pressure close to the La Rochelle tryline just before half time proved to be pivotal.
McFarland believes Ulster should have had a penalty try during that passage.
“When I look back on it, that period around 35 minutes when we’re completely dominating them five metres from their line, I believe should have been a penalty try and they got a yellow card,” said McFarland. “That’s effectively the difference.
“We had our moment when we were dominant and they offended so many times on those mauls that I think it should have been a penalty try. When they had theirs five metres out they dominated enough to get the score and that’s the difference.
“When the opposition are that messy, throwing bodies in all over the place, it’s very difficult to referee. That’s how La Rochelle defend mauls, it is messy, a lot of it is illegal, but I thought that we had so much dominance there that it should have been spotted.”
McFarland was pleased with how his players responded to the wholesale changes he had made to his starting XV ahead of this game.
“We talked before the game about opportunities to play Champions Cup away in France against huge clubs, those are career moments, they make memories,” he said.
“The talk before was that this will be a memory, and it will be. Guys will remember this for a long time as a night when we were 60 seconds away from beating the European champions in their home ground. It’s all the more relevant because of the backdrop of what we’re coming through.
“It would have been a different backdrop if we were coming in having won six games in a row and we’re not. It’s difficult and yet we churn out another performance full of effort and no little smarts in that second half. I thought the forwards were magnificent in that second half. I thought Nathan Doak controlled the game really well in that second half.”
Get instant updates on your province on The42 app. With Laya Healthcare, official health and wellbeing partner to Leinster, Munster and Connacht Rugby.
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Dan McFarland Head Coach la rochelle suftum Ulster