Bordeaux Begles 28 Ulster 13

Ulster Director of Rugby Les Kiss said his side need to take a “hard look” at themselves after a flurry of late Bordeaux-Begles tries saw the province lose their Champions Cup opener for a third season in succession.

The Ravenhill outfit had led for more than half of the contest thanks to an Andrew Trimble try but let their hosts run in trio of scores during the final eight minutes.

Having dealt with a Bordeaux barrage for much of the second-half only to see their efforts undermined by individual errors, Kiss was calling for heavy reflection in the days to come.

“We should just take a hard look at ourselves,” said the Australian. “That’s just the truth of it. I’m very disappointed, without a doubt.”

Kiss’s frustration was all the more keenly felt given that his side, with the game already lost, went for the line rather than the posts when a successful kick at goal would have brought at least the consolation of a losing bonus point.

“In the context of competitions you’ve got to be smarter I guess,” he added.

“We’ve talked about what one point means and one win means in the context of our season and hopefully we’re not going to rue that later in the comp.”

There had been initial signs that Ulster were not at their best.

In a contest where the build-up had been dominated by talk of his tête-à-tête with Irish rival Ian Madigan, Paddy Jackson was backpedalling early on when a wayward Ruan Pienaar pass eluded his grasp.

The battle between Johnny Sexton’s most recent understudies was not lost on the locals either, given Madigan’s ubiquitous presence in the host’s marketing of the game, and it was first blood to the Dubliner who stroked over an early penalty in an enterprising opening.

Having started in shambolic fashion in Connacht a week ago, Ulster grew in stature during the opening quarter and, when their breakthrough came just as the game inched beyond 20 minutes, it was deserved.

Having swarmed Blair Connor to force a turnover, Stuart Olding carried from the resulting scrum and Pienaar had the presence of mind to turn back inside to find the onrushing Trimble, picking a great line after coming off his right wing, to burst through and round the posts.

Very much on the front foot, Ulster looked sure to bank the next score and it arrived moments before half-time when Sean Reidy forced a penalty to leave Jackson a simple kick in front of the posts.

Ulster assistant coach Joe Barakat had warned that the surface at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, a ground originally constructed for the 1938 soccer World Cup, would cut up throughout and so it proved as the first forty minutes of action left huge divots in all four corners of the ground.

And after running repairs with the teams in the dressing room - even Bordeaux’s mascot was enlisted to pitch in - the Top14 outfit again saw their quick start rewarded with a Madigan penalty.

The sub-plot of the Irish tens would last only until the 50 minute mark, a penalty from Madigan's replacement Lionel Beauxis cutting the advantage to a point with his first act off the bench.

Ulster were teetering but on Bordeaux’s next visit to the 22 a Henderson turnover provided a seeming swing in momentum when Jackson slotted a penalty from halfway only moments later.

They would be Ulster’s final points, however, as Bordeaux’s late show was just around the corner.

With only eight minutes remaining, and after a panicked attempt at an Ulster exit brought a penalty, replacement prop Sebastien Taofifenua showed great strength to finish in the corner.

The missed conversion left Ulster trailing by the slenderest of margins but the worst was still to come.

Composure was again in short supply at the restart as Metuisela Talebula sprinted unopposed up the sideline. Jackson at least forced the pass to Baptiste Serin but Sean Reidy’s attempted tackle in the corner came too early and brought a penalty try and yellow card.

It was then that what should have been an attempt to secure at least something from the game went decidedly awry, a late penalty that would bring the side into losing bonus point territory for some reason taken quickly.

Once Ulster were turned over, what followed would have no bearing on the outcome, Blair Connor’s sprint finish to the line serving only to rub salt into an already stinging wound.

Next week’s visit from Exeter now takes on mammoth proportions.