Les Kiss praised his Ulster side’s battling qualities after a hard-fought triumph over La Rochelle. The result at a wet and windy Kingspan Stadium put the Irish province top of Pool One – a point ahead of their visitors – and in with a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since 2014.
“The boys turned up in a real vicious mood, similar to Harlequins [a 17-5 win on 10 December] and we did that again,” the director of rugby said.
Regarding Ulster having won 19 turnovers, he said: “If our attitude was going to show through, it was going to show through in that area.”
A bonus-point win for Ulster in the final round of group games at Wasps next week will guarantee them a top-place finish, though La Rochelle’s losing bonus point from Belfast could also prove crucial for their ambitions – they host Harlequins, who are out of the running, next weekend.
Rory Best, the captain, was man of the match, Jacob Stockdale and Nick Timoney scored tries for the hosts, with John Cooney adding one conversion and one penalty, while the visitors’ points – including the first six of the game, via two penalties – all came from Alexi Bales.
Kiss felt surviving a number of scrums and subsequent penalties near the Ulster line around the hour mark had been key to his side holding on to their lead. “There were a lot of very important moments in the game but I think that was critical for us,” the Australian said. “We didn’t want to go to scrums that often and we had that sequence of scrums in that area and it wasn’t ideal, but we just held strong enough and I think that was critical and the turning point.
“Then we got down the other end of the pitch and most of the rest of the game was spent in that area.”
Ulster dominated the closing stages but just could not score the fourth try which would have put them in a stronger position to finish as pool winners. Kiss continued: “We just couldn’t get that extra try, but in this type of competition, as the Munster sides of old would have told you, you just have to get what you get out of it.
“It would have been nice to deny them that point, but we’re still top of the pool.”