Two questions linger following Ulster’s defeat to La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, a match that was controversially moved from the Kingspan Stadium due to an unplayable pitch.
Ulster head coach Dan McFarland was livid, both at the decision to move the game and to let in 100 or so La Rochelle representatives despite the match being behind closed doors; “First time I’ve seen delegates eight-years-old” was a particularly strong post match quip.
His anger aside, who exactly were those “delegates”? A French journalist on Twitter called them “supporters” when sharing pictures while stating La Rochelle got them into the ground.
It is understood that the group, many wearing La Rochelle scarves, were club benefactors and sponsors who flew on the team charter and were granted admission under exceptional circumstances. On Twitter, Ulster CEO Jonny Petrie said they were the travelling party, not travelling supporters, and Ulster had to let them in “unless we wanted to be subject to further financial and legal sanction.”
A bizarre semantic discussion has started due to those wearing team-branded hats and scarves now not counting as fans. Who gets into a behind-closed-doors event is also now unclear.
Regardless, the other question that should not be overshadowed revolves around what went wrong at the Kingspan last week.
As a point of comparison, Glasgow Warriors were in a similar situation, battling a frozen pitch that forced them to move their Challenge Cup match with Perpignan from Scotstoun to Murrayfield. However, that decision was made last Wednesday, leaving enough time for Murrayfield to put in the structures to ensure crowd safety.
A decision on the Kingspan wasn’t made until late on Friday, less than 24 hours from kick-off. Even if, as McFarland claimed, the Kingspan was playable on Saturday, Ulster owe supporters an explanation.
Reports suggest Ulster are in danger of a misconduct charge as a result of the fiasco, while the province confirmed in a statement that they and the EPCR will conduct a review.
Be like Mike
This European window showed why Leinster signed Michael Ala’alatoa. There was always going to be only so much impact you can get from someone brought in to be tight head cover for Tadhg Furlong, but now Leinster are seeing the full capability of the former Crusaders man a year into his stint in blue.
To say he struggled last season at times when scrummaging at the back end of the European campaign would be harsh, but the Samoan international certainly was not dominant – which he has been in the last fortnight.
Many were concerned about the potential impact of Racing 92′s set-piece in advance of last week’s Leinster win. Ala’alatoa was an instrumental part of a frontrow effort that dismantled the French side’s scrum, while Gloucester’s second string were put to the sword on Friday night.
Leo Cullen has a theory to explain Ala’alatoa’s marked improvement as a scrummager: “There’s a lot of nuances you need to figure out in terms of northern hemisphere scrummaging,” said the Leinster head coach. “[There are] different teams you come against versus what he would be used to in Super Rugby.
“When someone comes in for the first year, you’re meeting all these new people, there’s a certain way we do things and you’re just trying to find your way among it all. We’re delighted he’s settled in, like the way he hoped he would.”
Laoch na hImeartha
It wasn’t a bad debut season at Blackrock for Enya Breen. In her first campaign with the Stradbrook club, the Cork native was named Laoch na hImeartha by TG4 after steering Blackrock past Railway Union in the AIL final on Saturday.
After the game was postponed from its initial date due to a frozen pitch (not the only time the weather has played havoc in Irish rugby of late), Blackrock scored 20 unanswered points as a dominant second half display left the final scoreline at 27-7.
It marks a year of redemption for the victors after losing last year’s final to Railway.
“Obviously we came back from losing the final last year, they had a point to prove this year,” said Breen, who wasn’t involved when Blackrock lost last year’s decider.
“It was a dream game to be honest, it was a tough first half, we knew they’d bring it to us. Two top teams, top of the league this year and that’s the rugby you want to play.
“Luckily for us we turned the screw in the second half, we made the most of the opportunities we got. It’s been great, it’s a great day to be honest. It’s unreal, there’s a great bunch of experience there
“[Blackrock is a] very ambitious club, great group of girls, great craic on and off the pitch, that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?”
Number: €10
The cost of some tickets for Leinster’s home Champions Cup clash with Racing at the Aviva in January. Racing, who are in a precarious position in Europe after defeat to Harlequins on Sunday night, could well be out of European contention by then and send over a second-string outfit, leaving Leinster in another no-contest. Those who got their hands on one of the limited tickets for only a tenner could be sitting smugly come January 21st.
Quote
“After spending a year in the Top14, that decision doesn’t surprise me.”
The reaction of JJ Hanrahan, on commentary for BT’s coverage of Northampton vs Munster, to French referee Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy’s decision to only card two players following a second-half scuffle. There could easily have been four or five, with plenty of players lucky to avoid sanction, in particular Matt Proctor, who ran from distance to throw his shoulder into the melee.
