Ulster - 8 Biarritz 24: A French side playing in Belfast as they would in France? Whatever next? The cheek of Biarritz to arrive at Ravenhill Road last night and not conform to stereotype, breaking a tradition of brittle French performances away from home.
They also broke Ulster hearts as well as their record of not having lost a home European Cup match since December 2002. Fittingly that last defeat 14 matches ago also came at the hands of Biarritz. But this one probably hurt more and puts Ulster out of the European Cup. Regardless of the result in their final game against Treviso Ulster cannot now advance to the knockout stages.
And Biarritz? They stay top of the Pool Four.
It was clear what Ulster intentions were from the beginning of the match - to score tries. Anything else was a pointless exercise as they needed not only to win the game to continue their interest in the competition but also to gain a bonus point.
Twice in the opening three minutes as Neil Best charged 50 yards into the Biarritz 22 and then a weighted cross-field kick from David Humphreys to Tommy Bowe pushed the French inches from their line, Ulster chose to kick to touch. That paid off as Biarritz struggled to meet the pace early on. From five metres out the drive from Ulster's second lineout found hooker Rory Best, his lunge over giving the home side the perfect start on four minutes.
But as quickly as that cameo show of pep from the home side flared, it died, and when Biarritz scrumhalf Dimitri Yachvili kicked his side to 5-3 shortly afterwards, the early images of a fire-and-brimstone Ulster performance had faded.
While Ulster did appear to be frustrating the French in their lineouts and in the loose, and with the turf yielding to soft, early raids into the Ulster 22 were comfortably kept at bay with some tough up-front tackling by the home pack.
Australian secondrow Justin Harrison was a typical menace around the park and in the lineouts, and Stephen Ferris, thrown in against French international Imanol Harinordoquy at openside, made a few bullish darts to get the full house going.
But what Ulster needed more than anything was to capitalise on the scraps Biarritz were offering. A lineout nicked in the French 22 and a scrum lost five metres out despite the sinbinning of international backrow Thierry Dusautoir on 37 minutes were the platforms Ulster had to use much more effectively than they did.
When Humphreys missed a tackle on Philippe Bidabe on the half hour, Biarritz gorged themselves. With Sereli Bobo supporting outside, Bidabe delivered and the Fijian winger snaked up the left wing to touch down in the corner. Cries from Ulster scrumhalf Issac Boss that Bobo had stepped on the sideline on his journey over the try line fell on deaf ears as Biarritz took a 5-8 lead into the break, Yachvili missing the conversion.
The fact was if the Biarritz scrumhalf had his kicking boots on Ulster would have been in deeper trouble. A missed conversion and penalty in the first half followed by another missed penalty minutes into the second half scuppered any ideas of the French creating more than a three-point cushion. Then when Humphreys landed a penalty for his 500th European Cup points on 51 minutes, they were again level.
That signalled Humphreys's last input as he hobbled off minutes later to be replaced by Adam Larkin. Within nine minutes of his departure Biarritz broke out of their half for perhaps the first time in that period and earned a scrum five yards out. What Ulster were unable to do the French did almost at first time of asking, with the pugnacious prop Petru Balan worming his way over and Yachvili converting for 8-15.
That sounded the death knell for Ulster's European Cup year and as Mark McCall released a raft of substitutions, the taste for confrontation had seeped out of the Ulster game.
Harrison was always fully engaged and certainly showed Jerome Thion and David Couzinet the abrasive side of his play. But it was never enough.
Biarritz tackled hard and effectively and stymied anything Ulster offered. There were simply no defensive leaks after the first Ulster try. A few Andrew Trimble runs gained ground but the French were never knocked out of the comfort zone even on their line. They were rarely flash but very, very sound.
They dominated the final quarter as Yachvili, the man of the match, landing two more penalties for 8-21 and an unassailable position at the top of pool.
Scoring sequence - 4 mins: R Best try 5-0; 12: D Yachvili pen 5-3; 31: S Bobo try 5-8 (half-time 5-8). 51: D Humphreys pen 8-8; 62: P Balan try, Yachvili con 8-15; 71: Yachvili pen 8-18; 79: Yachvili pen 8-21; 80: J Peyrelongue drop goal 8-24.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, K Maggs, P Steinmetz, A Trimble; D Humphreys, I Boss; B Young, R Best, S Best (capt); J Harrison, M McCullough; N Best, S Ferris, R Wilson. Replacements: J Fitzpatrick for Young (57 mins), A Larkin for Humphreys (62 mins), M McMillen for Ferris (68 mins), R Frost for McCullough (69 mins), J Topping for Maggs (77 mins).
BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE: N Brusque; J B Goblet, P Bidabe, F Aramburu, S Boo; J Peyrelongue, D Yachvili; P Balan, B August, B Lecouls; J Thion, D Couzinet; T Dusautoir, I Harinordoquy, T Lievremont (capt). Replacements: O Booyse for Couzinet (75 mins), S Betsen for Harinordoquy (77 mins), D Lison for Bobo (80 mins).
Referee: D Pearson (England)
