Ulster went down fighting in a 43-31 defeat by Bordeaux at Stade Chaban-Delmas that ends their Investec Champions Cup campaign at the last-16 stage.
The Irish side twice fought back when faced by hefty deficits and finished with five tries, but Bordeaux possessed too much class even without France wing sensation Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who was rested.
Zac Ward ran in two of Ulster’s tries in a frantic final quarter but the star of the afternoon was his fellow wing Jacob Stockdale for troubling the home defence time and again.
The tone for an absorbing contest was set when Damian Penaud ran half the pitch for a dynamic finish in the seventh minute to punish a gap in Ulster’s kick chase.
Tight five forwards Ben Tameifuna and Adam Coleman added tries as Bordeaux surged 21-0 ahead, but the visitors hit back.
Fixture
Investec Champions Cup
Bordeaux
Ulster
Prop Tom O’Toole and number eight Dave McCann crossed from close range, but both tries followed creative build-up play with Stockdale especially effective.
The door was slammed shut on the comeback in first-half injury time, however, when a loose kick was turned into a counter attacking opportunity with Bordeaux switching on the style for Romain Buros to score.
Maxime Lucu rifled over a penalty early in the second half and then the Top 14 heavyweights showed their power at close quarters with a try for Maxime Lamothe.
Ulster refused to throw in the towel and evidence of their resilience was seen in the 56th minute when they expertly worked the ball in tight space with Stockdale teeing up Nick Timoney, who finished brilliantly in the left corner.
Their tails up with Stockdale and centre Stuart McCloskey prominent, Ulster showed patience to score a fourth try with Zac Ward touching down and the deficit was now only 12 points.
But Bordeaux flexed their muscles for the second time with Rohan Janse van Rensburg barging over as his side clicked through the gears before Ward punished their looseness late on with his second try.
