Match Preview: Ulster eager to notch first win
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Ulster Rugby head to reigning champions Stade Rochelais in dire need of a victory in Round 3 of the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday.
The Irish province have suffered back-to-back defeats at the start of their Pool B campaign, losing 39-0 at Sale Sharks, before going down 36-29 to La Rochelle in Dublin.
Ulster’s late fightback in the second of those games earned them two bonus points and offers them some hope heading into the reverse fixture at Stade Marcel Deflandre.
La Rochelle lead the pool, having thrashed Northampton Saints 46-12 at home in Round 1 before seeing off Ulster in Round 2.
Since that loss, Ulster have won once in three United Rugby Championship games, while La Rochelle have recorded two victories in three TOP 14 clashes.
The match kicks off at 17:30 (UK & Irish time) and can be watched live on beIN SPORTS, BT Sport, SuperSport and FloRugby.
Key quote:
Ulster Rugby head coach Dan McFarland: “They are probably one of the top two teams in Europe, so it’s a big challenge to test yourself against the very best and is something we will look forward to this week.”
We're BACK 😍
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 10, 2023
Which #HeinekenChampionsCup R3️⃣ thriller will you be watching? pic.twitter.com/JIVp8KDboC
Stade Rochelais
- Antoine Hastoy scored more points than anyone else in Round 2 (26) – which was the most by a player in the Heineken Champions Cup since AJ MacGinty’s 32 for Sale Sharks against Scarlets in the 2021 Round of 16.
- Jonathan Danty is the only player to have been yellow-carded twice in the competition so far.
- Stade Rochelais have scored a tournament-high four tries after winning a turnover.
Ulster Rugby
- Ulster have conceded the joint-most penalties in the competition (31).
- They have produced just one try assist for their four tries.
- They have beaten the joint-fewest defenders in the tournament (21), made the joint-fewest clean breaks (3) and made the fewest entries into the opposition’s 22 (10).
