Ulster overcome La Rochelle to win 20-13

Ulster 20-13 La Rochelle, Kingspan Stadium
Scorecard

Ulster boosted their chances of a play-off berth in the European Champions Cup with a 20-13 victory over La Rochelle at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday.

Alexis Bales kicked a ninth-minute penalty to get La Rochelle off the mark and seven minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead following a second penalty kick from the scrum-half.

La Rochelle were then reduced to 14 men when replacement winger Paul Jordaan was yellow-carded by Wayne Barnes for hitting Charles Piutau in mid-air in the 22nd minute.

Ulster soon took advantage of having an extra man as Rory Best crashed past the line in the 27th minute. John Cooney missed out on the conversion but the Irish regional side soon took the lead when Jacob Stockdale touched down as the first half ended with a 10-6 margin.

Bales helped La Rochelle seize momentum early in the second half with a converted try but his efforts were negated by a try from Nick Timoney and a conversion from Cooney, who also kicked another penalty in the 49th minute to make it 20-13.

The remainder of the game was mostly dominated by Ulster, but neither side managed any further scores.