It felt like things couldn't get much worse for Ulster after last week’s 39-0 hammering away to Sale Sharks. At half-time, we were reconsidering that theory.
Down 29-0 and having conceded more than 100 points - and scored just seven - in the previous 160 minutes, Dan McFarland's side looked devoid of confidence and lost in the vast emptiness of the Aviva Stadium.
Their desperation had been summed up by dreadful discipline, conceding 11 penalties in the first 40, five of which were kicked for points for Antoine Hastoy, while the out-half and Brice Dulin added a pair of tries.
But with the competition structure the way it is, every bonus point counts, and after tightening their discipline up, they rallied with tries for Iain Henderson, John Cooney and Duane Vermeulen to get back within 17 heading into the final quarter.
Tom Stewart finished off a lineout maul on 73 minutes, which John Cooney converted to make it 36-26, and the 'hosts’ had something tangible to cling onto in the form of a try bonus point.
And with Cooney kicking a penalty with the final play of the game, it trimmed the scores to seven points, enough for a second bonus point, and maybe even a glimmer of confidence to keep them going over Christmas, and into two big Irish derbies in the next fortnight.
The opening minutes were dominated by the boot. Both sides traded contestable kicks until Ulster blinked first. Rory Sutherland strayed offside in midfield, allowing Hastoy to put La Rochelle 3-0 in front with a penalty on four minutes.
Hastoy doubled the lead to 6-0 just before the quarter-hour mark, his second penalty straight in front of the posts after Duane Vermeulen had been caught pulling down a maul.
No team had been penalised more than Ulster in round one and that poor discipline was already seeping into their performance.
On 17 minutes, Hastoy slotted his third penalty of the evening to make it 9-0, before getting another shot from long range two minutes later when Henderson was penalised for not rolling away. This time the 25-year-old's radar was off, as he pushed his kick wide to the right.
Even at 9-0 behind, Ulster were on the ropes. To make things worse, Billy Burns was an injury departure just after the quarter-hour, with Nathan Doak filling in as a makeshift 10.
La Rochelle were on starting to look comfortable, and when Ulster hooker Stewart overcooked a lineout on 23 minutes, his opposite number Pierre Bourgarit caught the loose ball to sprint 40 metres down the pitch, and the scrambling defence coughed up another cynical penalty, Hastoy obliging to make it 12-0, while Henderson was sent to the sin bin.
If felt like the game was getting away from Ulster, and a few minutes later it was starting to feel like game over as La Rochelle broke through for a try.
Hard, direct carries from Jonathan Danty and Gregory Alldritt sucked the Ulster defence infield, before Hastoy dinked a grubber to the corner, Dulin winning the race to dive on the ball.
As Hastoy slotted the conversion to make it 19-0, there were just over 10 minutes left in the half, and enough time for La Rochelle to put their foot on the throttle.
The French out-half tapped over another penalty to make it 22-0 before bagging himself a try on the stroke of half-time after a collection of Ulster blunders.
It started when McCloskey and Marshall got their timing wrong with a midfield pass, the ball spilling over to La Rochelle, and after Hastoy booted the ball downfield, a slip by Cooney allowed the out-half dive over and score, his conversion making it a humiliating 29-0 at the break, and 24 of those points coming for the out-half.
A miracle was needed for Ulster, but they made the right start to the second half. A strong kick-chase pinned La Rochelle back and forced a five-metre scrum, and after a penalty followed they picked and jammed their way to the line, before Henderson got the decisive grounding.
Cooney converted to make the score 29-7, but they were soon back behind their own line.
On 52 minutes, O’Gara’s side restored the 29-point advantage when Bourgarit reacted quickest to a spilled lineout, picking the pocket of Ethan McIlroy to run in from close range and score under the posts, which Hastoy again converted to make it 36-7.
The Ulster heads didn’t drop, and within 10 minutes they had brought themselves within reach of a bonus-point.
First, Cooney burrowed over after a sustained period close to the La Rochelle line, and with the French side reduced to 14 players due to a Danty yellow card, Ulster produced a brilliant third try when McCloskey connected with Vermeulen on a crossfield kick.
They were still 17 points behind at 36-19 when Cooney’s kick went wide, but with just under 20 minutes to play they had a target in sight.
Seven minutes from time, a perfect maul saw Stewart bundle his way over to score to secure the try bonus point, before Cooney added a conversion to make it a 10-point game.
They couldn’t complete the comeback, but after their dismal first half, they’ll gladly have accepted the second prize, as Cooney landed one final penalty in the final minute to give them two bonus points from the game.
It’s not what they came to Dublin for, but they’ll take it.
Ulster: Mike Lowry; Ethan McIlroy, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Rory Sutherland, Tom Stewart, Marty Moore; Alan O'Connor, Sam Carter; Iain Henderson (capt), Nick Timoney, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Eric O'Sullivan, Gareth Milasinovich, Kieran Treadwell, David McCann, Nathan Doak, Stewart Moore, Ben Moxham.
La Rochelle: Brice Dulin; Dillyn Leyds, UJ Seuteni, Jonathan Danty, Pierre Boudehent, Antoine Hastoy, Tawera Kerr Barlow; Reda Wardi, Pierre Bourgarit, Uini Atonio; Romain Sazy, Will Skelton; Remi Bourdeau, Yoan Tanga, Grégory Alldritt (capt).
Replacements: Quentin Lespiaucq-Brettes, Thierry Paiva, Joel Sclavi, Ultan Dillane, Paul Boudehent, Thomas Berjon, Levani Botia, Raymond Rhule.
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
