It was heartbreak for Ulster as European Champions La Rochelle claimed victory late on as Joel Sclavi scored in the last play of the game to secure a tight 7-3 victory.

With the clock deep in the red, substitute prop Joel Sclavi muscled his way over the line to score the only try of the game which was enough to earn his side the victory.

We had to wait for nearly 63 minutes to see the first score of the contest. It came from the boot of Nathan Doak.

It was a low scoring and somewhat uneventful game at times. Ronan O’Gara will be glad his team managed to grind out the late try and winning result.

It was clear before the opening whistle blew that this was going to be a difficult game for both teams due to the tough weather conditions and scores might very well be at a premium and it certainly lived up to the pre-match billing.

It was rugby for the purest. There wasn’t an awful lot to report on in the opening 40 minutes. It was very much a battle of kick tennis.

The elements were in the favour of Ulster in the opening half. Scrum half Doak challenged the opposition back three, with some smart kicking.

Antoine Hastoy and Doak traded penalties, both attempts were unsuccessful with the game remaining scoreless.

On the half hour mark, Ulster had an attacking line out deep in the opposition half. They got the maul rolling, it looked on its way to the try line, but a handling error at the wrong moment meant it was merely a missed opportunity.

Dan McFarland’s men kept hammering  at the door of the try line, asking tough questions of the defence, forcing them to give away numerous penalties before Paul Boudehent was sent to the sin bin for repeat team infringements.

The away side tried their best to unlock the yellow wall. Rob Lyttle looked to be over for a try before it was called back for a forward pass.

The French club’s defence stood strong. It was all square at half time with no points scored by either team. It was a half of rugby to forget.

The second half wasn’t much better until about the 62nd minute. A big scrum penalty gave Doak a shot at the posts from right in front. It was a straightforward penalty for the placekicker who put the away side in the lead and more importantly gave us the first score of the game.

That score seemed to light the fire underneath the hosts as they finally started to get going and put pressure on the opposition.

It looked as if Ulster were going to hold on for the win, putting in a massive defensive shift in their own danger zone.

However, right at the death, they conceded a soul destroying try. From a penalty, the home team opted for the corner. They had a lineout a few metres out from the scoring zone and a big effort at the set piece inched them forward before Scalvi bulldozed over the line to seal an important victory for the defending champions. 7-3 was the final score. A tough defeat and bitter pill for Ulster to swallow.