Gerry Thornley: Ulster’s lose-lose match with La Rochelle in empty Aviva could cost up to €700,000

When Cian Healy was sent off in the 21st minute at the RDS just over a fortnight ago with the score 3-3, the stakes suddenly increased for Ulster. Their immediate response was to score three first-half tries, but from the last play of the first half that night until half-time at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday – when La Rochelle were leading 29-0 -, Ulster had, in just over four halves of rugby, scored seven points and conceded 103. Their Champions Cup campaign, and perhaps their season, was on the brink of imploding.

This was also due to how events had evolved off the pitch last week. Despite reports of a frozen surface at the Kingspan Stadium, the Ulster CEO Jonny Petrie had clung to the belief that the pitch would be fit by Saturday to host their second round Pool B game as scheduled.

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There had also been assurances to the tournament organisers, EPCR, that Ulster’s nominated alternative home venue, RDS, would be available should a switch prove to be necessary.

Apparently there had also been a delay in the arrival of heaters at the ground until Thursday, by which stage the tournament organisers were becoming understandably nervous. Ulster asked if the game could be postponed for 24 hours until the Sunday, although the EPCR maintained the line that this was a non-runner.

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Phone calls to both the URC and, particularly, the resolutely unmovable LNR confirmed as much, not least as Ulster are due to play Connacht in the Sportsground and La Rochelle are hosting Bordeaux-Bègles next Friday, which would have left just four rest days for the two teams.

Most of all, BT Sport were not in a position to broadcast the game last Sunday, so moving it would have had serious implications for the EPCR’s contracts with broadcasters and sponsors, and meant no TMO or HIA assessments from pitchside.

Amid the regular dialogue the EPCR wanted a decision to be made by Friday morning, despite pleas from Ulster, whose staff had been working assiduously to make the pitch playable, that a decision be deferred to Saturday morning.

The tournament organisers agreed to delay a decision until match referee Luke Pearce inspected the Kingspan pitch early on Friday afternoon after his arrival in Belfast. Pearce judged that 60 per cent of the pitch was unplayable.

Informed of Pearce’s pitch inspection, Ulster asked for the decision to be deferred until the morning of the game, but the EPCR said that the risk of a cancellation – the worst-case scenario – was too great. Had they bent their rules to accommodate Ulster’s wishes, that precedent would have been set for the other 41 competing teams in both competitions forever.

A decision had to be made the day before the game, in fairness to the broadcasters and the reigning champions, whose squad had arrived by charter with 100 or so commercial backers and, evidently, supporters, who had paid to be aboard the flights.

On late Friday afternoon Petrie informed the EPCR that there might be a problem with obtaining the RDS – which they would have had to hire from the Royal Dublin Society. Instead, they suggested the IRFU’s Aviva Stadium as an alternative, with the proviso that the tie would take place behind closed doors.

So, somewhat ridiculously, a statement was issued on Friday evening, less than 24 hours before kick-off, that the game was being moved “to a Dublin venue”. The late timing and ensuing logistics, as well as concerns regarding health and safety, also meant no access for supporters. On Saturday morning it was confirmed that the Aviva would host the game.

La Rochelle had been transferred by coach to a Dublin hotel on Friday, but the club’s hierarchy were not of a mind to have their travelling party locked out come kick-off, and made their feelings known to Ulster. What followed was a terrible look for the competition and a lose-lose outcome for both Ulster and the EPCR, all the more so with the 100 or so La Rochelle delegation in the Aviva echo chamber – a rather uncomfortable reminder of games in the pandemic.

The cost of a switch to an empty Aviva could be anything between €500,000-€700,000 for Ulster. But the bottom line is that, come Friday afternoon, Ulster could not prove that their pitch would be playable. The other big losers in all this were the Ulster players, coaches and supporters.

Before kick-off, Petrie took to Twitter to direct Ulster’s ire toward the EPCR, perhaps also in an effort to assuage disgruntled supporters who had bought tickets for the game, maintaining that the Kingspan pitch would have been playable.

Head coach Dan McFarland echoed those sentiments before kick-off on TV (and even more angrily post-match), prompting former captain Rory Best to venture that all such talk should have been held back until Monday.

Ulster’s first-half performance last Saturday seemed distracted, and by half-time they were staring into the abyss. After scoring freely when winning seven of their first eight URC games, their collapse to the tune of 103-7 in just over four halves of rugby was a spectacular turnaround even by their standards.

McFarland has done a fine job in overseeing a transition during which several long-serving home players have retired and been replaced by a new crop of mostly indigenous players. Greater squad depth has been backed, once again, by astute signings. But their reaction to setbacks and inconsistency has remained one of their most consistent features.

To their credit, Ulster responded with four second-half tries against La Rochelle and earned two bonus points. It remains to be seen whether this will ultimately salvage their Champions Cup campaign but it may well have salvaged their season, for the time being anyway.

But amid all the off-field noise, it’s worth noting that last Wednesday, Glasgow notified the EPCR of their concerns over the frozen 4G pitch at Scotstoun, and a decision was made that day to move Friday’s Challenge Cup tie to their nominated alternative venue, Murrayfield, which has undersoil heating, with supporters permitted to attend.

By contrast, one senses that last week’s most unsatisfactory saga mightn’t be over yet.

gerry.thornley@irishtimes.com