Ulster fell agonisingly short away from home to Heineken Champions Cup holders La Rochelle at the Stade Marcel Deflandre on Saturday evening.
Champions are champions for a reason and Ronan O'Gara’s charges got the vital, match-winning score while the clock was in the red - something he was no stranger to doing himself.
Ulster deserved a lot more from the game after managing it better than La Rochelle for large parts of the 80 minutes in awful wind and rain.
Rugby in those conditions is a different game and not what either side would have been preparing for.
When the head coach or attack coach sets out their game plan at the start of the season, it’s rarely with the thought that it would be the perfect strategy for torrential rain and howling winds. It’s not much of a spectacle for supporters either, despite some rugby purists enjoying the strategic battle.
However, if you want to play the game at the business end of the season in semi-finals and finals, you need the ability to adapt the game plan to master all eventualities.
To have success in these conditions, certain qualities are essential.
A goal kicker is worth their weight in gold. You will only get a handful of opportunities so you can’t waste any.
Antoine Hastoy [above] was unfortunate to hit the post when his side were playing into the wind. The underfoot conditions, the wet slippery ball and the aerial challenges played their part and his shot rebounded off the post to let Ulster off the hook.
Any score into a wind like that, with conditions that were unplayable, is a major lifeline in the game. Ulster got lucky.
If Hastoy was able to convert the chance, La Rochelle could have opted for the posts late on in the second half instead of needing to pound away at the Ulster defence. Things could have been easier for his side.
Likewise, Nathan Doak converted his opportunity heading into the third quarter, seemingly enough to win the game until La Rochelle found a way to cross the line at the dying moments. Goal kicking wasn’t the great decider this time, but it may well have been on another occasion.
A strong setpiece is vital to any successful team. In those conditions, the lineout is a nightmare. When a hooker gets the throw right, you can still spill a greasy ball and lose out on possession and territory.
Being able to regather possession to hide the ball in a dominant maul is a strong characteristic of a team that will come out on top. With Ulster’s dominance in their maul attack, they would have been confident of causing an upset from a set piece perspective and it very nearly came off for them.
They knocked on from a surging maul over the La Rochelle line in the first half which could have been enough to win the game should they have converted the opportunity. Add that to the Doak penalty in the second half and it would have been close to impossible for La Rochelle to claw their way back into the game.
Ulster should have converted the opportunity, but they will feel aggrieved that they didn’t get a penalty try somewhere along the line, much to the annoyance of Dan McFarland (above).
Neither side was overly dominant in the scrum but that’s another area that you can utilise to force penalties, kick long to touch and dominate territory when playing with those treacherous conditions.
A penalty in the scrum can slow the game and break the momentum when you’re facing into a gusting wind. Having a dominant tight five can be the difference when playing out the tactical battle. The Ulster scrum won the penalty that put them ahead in the 62nd minute, yet it wasn’t enough of a lead for them to hang on to.
Evidently, having a talented, kicking full-back can also sway a fixture like this one. Brice Dulin was arguably the player of the match alongside his captain Gregory Alldritt. Dulin kept Ulster firmly away from the La Rochelle 22 on numerous occasions in the first half when the visitors had the wind at their back, trying to kick long to force errors.
Dulin kicked long out of his half in those challenging conditions, often even covering for the lacklustre Teddy Thomas. This was a huge point of difference throughout the game.
Tactics also have to change when playing in those circumstances. We saw Doak kicking away cheap possession in the first half from the base of a midfield scrum. The idea was right, to force an error in the La Rochelle half, because the conditions meant that handling the ball in your attack wasn’t guaranteed.
However, it was a bit of an aimless kick to the air and Dulin was able to mark it and kick out of his own half again.
Midfield scrums are the toughest defensive setpiece in the game. So to kick the ball away when in possession of one shows just how difficult it is to play in wet and windy conditions.
Games like this need leaders and individual moments can sway the momentum. When you’re camped in your own half and staring into a demoralising wind, you need your stars to show up. Iain Henderson led from the front for Ulster with lineout turnovers and a crucial poach penalty to keep La Rochelle away from their posts in the second half. Gregory Alldritt played the same role for the champions.
Teams win matches, however, in these games individual moments of brilliance really turn the game and Alldritt never stopped, long after Henderson had to leave the field. Both players showed massive resilience and also a lot of discipline to pick their moments to win turnovers.
Discipline can save you from giving away cheap penalties that allow territory, possession and even the rare opportunity to kick at goal.
In attack, the game inevitably changes. Even the most flamboyant attacking teams will become more pragmatic in extreme conditions and choose to transfer pressure in the setpiece to gain penalties. It’s not a negative game plan, it’s just strategically more realistic when defences inevitably come out on top with difficult handling conditions. It’s difficult to get any cohesion when players will stutter catching the ball.
The timing and fluidity of the attack often falters.
Playing on both sides of the ruck and opening up a blindside to snipe back down will work to your favour.
When penalties are awarded out the pitch, it will be easier to kick down the line as well, if you’re closer to the touchline.
All of these aspects are crucial in the winning of games in tough playing conditions.
It won’t add to the spectacle. However, understanding the tactics in a hard-fought win like this will allow you to enjoy the tactical and strategic battle of the unlikely howling wind and driving rain in La Rochelle last weekend.
