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John Cooney tallied 14 points in Ulster’s Round 2 defeat to La Rochelle
Ulster Rugby head to reigning champions Stade Rochelais in dire need of a victory in Round 3 of the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday.
The Irish province have suffered back-to-back defeats at the start of their Pool B campaign, losing 39-0 at Sale Sharks, before going down 36-29 to La Rochelle in Dublin.
Ulster’s late fightback in the second of those games earned them two bonus points and offers them some hope heading into the reverse fixture at Stade Marcel Deflandre.
La Rochelle lead the pool, having thrashed Northampton Saints 46-12 at home in Round 1 before seeing off Ulster in Round 2.
Since that loss, Ulster have won once in three United Rugby Championship games, while La Rochelle have recorded two victories in three TOP 14 clashes.
The match kicks off at 17:30 (UK & Irish time) and can be watched live on beIN SPORTS, BT Sport, SuperSport and FloRugby.
Key quote:
Ulster Rugby head coach Dan McFarland: “They are probably one of the top two teams in Europe, so it’s a big challenge to test yourself against the very best and is something we will look forward to this week.”
We're BACK 😍
Which #HeinekenChampionsCup R3️⃣ thriller will you be watching? pic.twitter.com/JIVp8KDboC
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 10, 2023
Stade Rochelais
- Antoine Hastoy scored more points than anyone else in Round 2 (26) – which was the most by a player in the Heineken Champions Cup since AJ MacGinty’s 32 for Sale Sharks against Scarlets in the 2021 Round of 16.
- Jonathan Danty is the only player to have been yellow-carded twice in the competition so far.
- Stade Rochelais have scored a tournament-high four tries after winning a turnover.
Ulster Rugby
- Ulster have conceded the joint-most penalties in the competition (31).
- They have produced just one try assist for their four tries.
- They have beaten the joint-fewest defenders in the tournament (21), made the joint-fewest clean breaks (3) and made the fewest entries into the opposition’s 22 (10).
Heineken Champions Cup Round 3 Pool B, Stade Marcel Deflandre, La Rochelle, France 14/1/2023 La Rochelle vs Ulster
Joel Sclavi’s 81st minute try cost Ulster Rugby a famous Heineken Champions Cup victory over defending champions Stade Rochelais, as they fell to a 7-3 defeat in Pool B at the Stade Marcel Deflandre on Saturday.
Sclavi powered over from close range in added time as La Rochelle stole victory from the jaws of defeat in turgid conditions – the weather playing a huge factor in the contest.
A Nathan Doak penalty for Ulster had given them a 3-0 lead in a game of very few scoring chances, but the Irish province were unable to hold off the determined hosts in the final seconds of the contest.
They certainly had to work for it, but reigning champions @staderochelais advanced to the #HeinekenChampionsCup Round of 16 in the rain of La Rochelle 🙌
Can they retain the title? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/HceataUwlU
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
With rain and wind gusting around the Stade Marcel Deflandre, the first half was one of handling errors and missed opportunities.
Both sides had chances to take the lead from the tee, Antoine Hastoy clanging an effort off the post before Doak narrowly missed a long-range effort.
Ulster controlled a lot of the territory in the first half and did knock on the door of the La Rochelle try-line, forcing referee Nika Amashukeli to send Paul Boudehent to the sin bin for persistent infringements. Despite the pressure, La Rochelle held firm to go into the break scoreless.
The second half brought more of the same, with Doak’s 64th minute looking set to be the difference between the two sides.
But alas, Sclavi rumbled over from close range after a number of phases near the Ulster line, the reigning champions securing their berth in the Round of 16 with the late score.
Ulster sit 10th in Pool B with three points from three games and will need a victory at home against Sale Sharks next Saturday to have any hope of reaching the knockout stage. La Rochelle travel to Northampton Saints on the same day in their Round 4 clash.
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