Ulster
will hope that Sunday’s Guinness Pro12 victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons represents a watershed moment, specifically in relation to their form on the road.
Last season they lost seven of 12 games – including the semi-final defeat to the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun – in the competition outside of Belfast while in this campaign they had been beaten in all three matches on their travels before Sunday's 19-12 success at Rodney Parade.
On Saturday they travel to the Stade Charles-Mathon to take on Oyonnax as the French club make their debut in the Champions Cup on the opening weekend of the tournament.
The Irish province failed to emerge from the pool stages last season in Europe principally on foot of losing at Welford Road, Parc y Scarlets and Stade Mayol.
It would be overstating matters to suggest Ulster are fretful but, as captain Rory Best says, they are not oblivious to their travails away from Kingspan Stadium.
’More steel’
“I wouldn’t say it is a cause for concern but it is something that we are very much aware of and it is something that we are addressing,” he said.
“When you look at our training during the week of an away game versus a home game, nothing really changes. Sometimes it just needs to be mentioned and addressed. When you are at home, you can get momentum back very quickly when you lose it.
“Away from home when you lose a bit of momentum it’s a lot harder; you need to show a little bit more steel, and it is something that we need to get a lot better at. When we lose that bit of momentum away from home, we go into our shells a little bit. First of all, we need to address it, not be afraid to mention it, to go, ‘Look, we do struggle away from home.’ We’ll see what Les has up his sleeve.”
The last sentiment raises a chuckle from Ulster's new head coach and director of rugby, Les Kiss, as he contemplates an answer. Ireland's former defence coach already boasts a little inside knowledge as he guided the province for 12 weeks at the beginning of last season.
“I will get my feet on the ground, albeit that I did have 12 weeks beforehand. We handled it reasonably well [then] except for the Zebre [away] game. It is something that as Rory mentioned we should be unafraid to confront; accept it and find the solution,” he said.
“I have my ideas around it. Hopefully sooner rather than later I can have some type of influence on how it goes. It is known in any type of competition that teams that get to the back end, contenders rather than pretenders, do well at home.
Oyonnax may be less fashionable than some of the other French Top 14 clubs but Kiss said: “This is their first tilt at the competition. They will be locked and loaded. I have watched a few of their matches on their home turf. I haven’t been there in person but it seems intimidating, they are engaged with their fans.
“Oyonnax would love to have a story to tell forever, their first tilt at this cup at this level, they tipped Ulster over.”
