HEINEKEN CUP POOL FOUR Ulster 10 Stade Francais 26: THE STATISTICS may indicate Ulster achieved close to parity in terms of territory and possession but in technical and tactical terms they languished some way behind Stade Français for much of this Heineken Cup match at Ravenhill.
Stade Français had never won in four visits to Belfast but Ulster hopes of extending that proud sequence were effectively dashed within 25 minutes, after which they trailed by 16 points. It was a gap they would never bridge.
Application and perspiration are core ingredients but without technique, precision and legitimate aggression they won't usually bring victory. Ravenhill has ceased to be a fortress, the intimidating atmosphere of yesteryear dissipated by too many defeats.
The visit of Stade Français would formerly have sold out the stadium within a day. On Saturday 10,397 supporters craved a reprise of the halcyon days when Ulster teams frequently defied the odds in victory. The Ravenhill faithful wanted to get involved but instead largely remained on the periphery.
Ulster needed to introduce a bristling intensity from the opening whistle. But it was Stade who - when not opting for field position through the right boots of outhalf Juan Martín Hernández and fullback Lionel Beauxis - bossed the collisions.
Favoured by the wind, the French used it intelligently in the opening quarter.
The Ulster coach Matt Williams and captain Rory Best spoke about how the team had failed, because of the elements, to get hands on the ball in those early exchanges.
It was a valid point but failed to explain why Ulster's kick-and-chase game was so ponderous, their pursuit of restarts lacklustre and their defensive line speed more suited to the training ground than a match of this importance.
Stade stockpiled the points, Hernández posting two drop goals from four attempts - Williams pointed out afterwards that the Argentine playmaker had essayed 25 in his last three matches - while Beauxis tagged on a penalty and added the extra points following a try by centre Guillaume Bousses.
There was the suspicion of a forward pass from Hernández to set his colleague free but it became moot once the officials failed to intervene.
Ulster had gradually established a foothold in the game but despite impressive continuity at times, there was little sustained field position in the Stade half.
The home side were guilty of too many one-out solo charges where the ball carrier eventually needed rescuing or else the painfully slow gambit that necessitated the formation of three-man pods that promptly crashed to ground at the first sign of contact.
Scrumhalf Isaac Boss should have put more pace on the game. The new laws make it very difficult to recycle possession through a succession of rucks without transgressing.
A score either side of half-time when Ulster managed some momentum would have given the Irish some hope but the closest they came was when Ryan Caldwell was adjudged not to have made the try line.
Paddy Wallace would later disagree: "Ryan definitely grounded the ball but he (the referee) didn't go to the video referee; that was disappointing."
Stade haven't lost a match this season, a state of affairs that's easy to understand. Hernández and Beauxis interchange as the fulcrum of attack, there is physicality in the three-quarter line and up front the athleticism and power of players like Dimitri Szarzewski, captain Sergio Parisse, Mauro Bergamasco and Roberto Roncero keep them on the front foot.
They exploited soft shoulders on the fringes of rucks to make inroads, though in fairness to Ulster their scramble defence was pretty effective.
The one crucial exception was on 56 minutes when the France Under-20 international centre Matthieu Bastareaud, a first-half replacement for Bousses, broke three tackles before Niall O'Connor hauled him down. Two rucks later and Szarzewski was driven over.
Beauxis converted and Stade led 23-3, Ulster's points coming from the boot of O'Connor.
When the Stade fullback got in on the drop-goal act to nudge the visitors out to 26-3 the match was over but Ulster showed character in fighting to the finish and were rewarded when Wallace - his team's outstanding player - touched down after O'Connor's well judged grubber kick.
Quite apart from work ethic and attitude Williams will have been pleased with excellent performances from his centres, Wallace and Darren Cave, and the unerring solidity of fullback Bryn Cunningham.
Up front Caldwell was conspicuous in most facets, so too Kieron Dawson, Robbie Diack and BJ Botha. But for Stephen Ferris this was an opportunity lost; his contribution unusually fitful.
Williams was upbeat in the aftermath: "I am very proud of the guys and told them so. I walked into a changing-room where there is blood on most jerseys, dislocated fingers and concussions. The boys didn't turn it off for one minute. We played an incredible side. At 16-0 down Bryn (Cunningham) couldn't recall us missing a tackle.
"Our scrum was good and we got good gain lines but they hardly made an error. We made five or six and they punished us. You have got to play 80 minutes of error-free rugby to win a cup tie against a side of that quality."
It's a truth Ulster must endorse by deed next weekend when they travel to London to take on a buoyant Harlequins.
At Ravenhill on Saturday there were glimpses of an improvement but the scope for further development is appreciable.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 8 mins: Hernández drop goal, 0-3; 14: Beauxis penalty, 0-6; 22: Bousses try, Beauxis conversion, 0-13; 26: Hernández drop goal, 0-16 (half-time 0-16); 48: O'Connor penalty, 3-16; 56: Szarzewski try, Beauxis conversion, 3-23; 62: Beauxis drop goal, 3-26; 72: Wallace try, O'Connor conversion, 10-26.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; C Schifcofske, D Cave, P Wallace, A Trimble; N O'Connor, I Boss; T Court, R Best (capt), BJ Botha; E O'Donoghue, R Caldwell; S Ferris, K Dawson, R Diack. Replacements: P Steinmetz for Schifcofske (44 mins); J Fitzpatrick for Court, C Willis for Boss (both 48 mins); I Humphreys for Steinmetz, C del Fava for O'Donoghue (both 57 mins); Court for Botha (66 mins); M McCullough for Ferris (68 mins); N Brady for Best (73 mins).
STADE FRANÇAIS: L Beauxis; J Arias, G Bousses, B Liebenberg, J Saubade; J M Hernández, N Oelschig; R Roncero, D Szarzewski, D Attoub; A Marchois, S Taylor; Mauro Bergamasco, P Rabadan, S Parisse (capt). Replacements: M Bastareaud for Bousses (31 mins); S Marconnet for Attoub (44-55 and 62 mins); J Leguizamon for Mauro Bergamasco (46 mins); M Blin for Szarzewski (62 mins); P Vigouroux for Marchois (63 mins); Mirco Bergamasco for Arias (68 mins); T Bouhraoua for Leguizamon (73 mins).
Referee: N Owens(Wales).
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