Stade Francais Just Too Strong For Ulster

Ulster finally got to square up to Stade Francais this afternoon, a day late and in Paris rather than Brussels, but it was the French who froze out the game, running out comfortable victors by 29 points to 16.

After Saturday’s debacle in the Belgian capital with an unplayable frozen pitch, the action was relocated 24 hours later to the Parisians’ home patch at Stade Jean Bouin. The Ulster squad was virtually back to full strength, with BJ Botha returning to the pack, Timoci Nagusa back on the wing, and captain Paddy Wallace reinstated in the centre. Here he was partnered by Andrew Trimble, making the switch from the wing to accommodate the return of Nagusa. Coach Brian McLaughlin also preferred Willie Faloon in the back row to the recently rehabilitated David Pollock, who dropped to the bench. Stade, meanwhile, were most notably without the duo involved in last Saturday’s unsavoury eye-gouging controversy. Scrum-half Julien Dupuy was handed a six-month suspension on Friday for his assault on Stephen Ferris, while prop David Attoub, awaiting a hearing in January for a similar offence on the same player, was unavailable due to an interim internal suspension.

The tie started with a penalty apiece in the first four minutes, with Ian Humphreys kicking over first after a high tackle from Pascal Pape, quickly followed by three points for Stade out-half Lionel Beauxis with Ulster penalised for holding on in the tackle. On 10 minutes Stade flexed their muscles further with a powerful driving maul over the try-line, touched down by Dimitri Szarzewski and converted by Beauxis to put the score at Stade Francais 10 Ulster 3. Humphreys missed the chance to claw three points back two minutes later with an errant penalty from inside the 22, but made amends on 15 minutes with another penalty from virtually the same position to put Ulster back within four points.

The high penalty count continued with Ulster sanctioned on 18 minutes for holding on once again, and Beauxis showed much better form than he had at Ravenhill a week earlier, splitting the posts and setting the score at Stade Francais 13 Ulster 6 at the end of the first quarter. Further Ulster indiscipline gave away another penalty on 23 minutes, Beauxis opening up a 10-point gap with an elementary kick. Stade then continued to pile on pressure, which Ulster detained well for five good minutes, before succumbing to another penalty for coming in from the side. Beauxis effortlessly took his tally to four from four, with the game threatening to slip out of Ulster’s grip at Stade Francais 19 Ulster 6 with 32 minutes gone.

As half-time closed in, Ulster began to put some good constructive rugby together. Humphreys seized the initiative on 36 minutes with a drop-goal attempt, which, just as had happened with a penalty in the home tie a week before, rebounded agonisingly off the upright and was scrambled to safety by the French. The three points were not long in coming though, with Stade penalised for elbowing in the resulting line-out, and Humphreys keeping a cool head to slot over from distance. This brought the first half to a close with a 10-point margin in favour of the French, which, given the territorial dominance which Stade had enjoyed, left the tie just within Ulster’s grasp. Half-Time Score Stade Francais 19 Ulster 9.

The second period opened with several minutes of territorial kicking from both sides, with Ulster struggling to break out of their own half in possession. The fifty-minute mark saw the introduction of Ian Whitten in place of Timoci Nagusa, and Ulster almost immediately forced their way deep into enemy territory thanks to a clever lob from Humphreys. A crucial scrum eight metres from the French posts came to naught when Stade got a fortunate turnover, and it was the home team who were next to score with another Beauxis penalty on the hour mark, making it Stade Francais 22 Ulster 9.

The French effectively killed the game off with 14 minutes remaining, when they were able to force their way over from a position similar to that from which Ulster had failed 10 minutes previously, Benjamin Kayser grounding the try and Beauxis converting to extend the gap to 20 points. No sooner, though, had the game restarted than Andrew Trimble burst out of nowhere to outstrip the French backs down the wing and register an exceptional individual try, converted by Humphreys to make the score Stade Francais 29 Ulster 16 with 11 minutes remaining.

Ulster continued to give a better account of themselves as the match drew to its close, and while it was clear the match was now unsalvageable, continued to press until the final whistle.  The result leaves Stade as clear leaders of the group on 13 points, followed by Ulster and Edinburgh, both sitting on nine points. Qualification for Ulster now looks unlikely but not impossible, with a home match against Edinburgh and an away tie at Bath must-win fixtures. Before the Heineken Cup resumes, though, there are important Magners League clashes to be played, starting with a Boxing Day trip to Leinster.

Full-Time Score Stade Francais 29 Ulster 16

Daniel "Pitchside" Pitcher Twitter: @DanFM104Sport About: Dan "Pitchside" Pitcher provides insight and commentary as the chief soccer and rugby correspondent for Sportspeak.