RUGBY: Reidy ready for Ulster recovery to increase La Rochelle pain on the road

Pool One is delicately poised, with the French side two points clear of Ulster and Wasps a further three adrift.

With two games remaining, all three teams are in with a chance of making the quarter-finals.

Flanker Sean Reidy is hoping Ulster can exploit La Rochelle’s travel sickness on Saturday afternoon.

Patrice Colloazo’s side arrive in Belfast second in the Top 14, a point behind the leaders, Ruan Pienaar’s Montpellier - but haven’t registered a win on the road in the last four games.

The weekend draw with bottom-of-the-table Oyonnax was preceded by defeats at Bordeaux, Wasps and Castres. La Rochelle’s last away win came against Lyon at the start of November.

“I thought they had their weaknesses when we went away and it does seem that when they travel they have the odd slip up, they are only human, they have got some class across the pitch and we’ll try to take them,” said Reidy.

Ulster lost 41-17 when the sides met at the Stade Marcel Deflandre in October and the Ireland flanker knows Les Kiss’ side will need to play better than they did at the RDS on Saturday in a 38-7 reverse to Leinster.

Ulster missed 23 tackles and conceded nine turnovers in Dublin as the defence, which has leaked 15 tries in three games, continued to malfunction.

“Some of our carriers into contact were frivolous with the ball and we paid for it,” said Reidy. “I think it is a mindset thing, we have to be harder on ourselves when carrying the ball.

“I was feeling very comfortable in defence during that first half.

“I didn’t think they were throwing anything too drastic that we couldn’t handle and I was quiet excited about that second half.

“There were two or three times we were hot on attack, a little knock on or a dropped pass and we were paying for it with five or seven points.

“At half-time I thought we were right in it, there was quiet a strong wind hitting into those corners, at half-time I was very comfortable and thought we could come away with it but it was just in the 22s we let it slip a little bit and you put your head up from a ruck and the next minute they are scoring down the other end and that is really unacceptable.

“It really hurts and the boys are feeling it.

“In this game, you cannot stay down too long or it will eat away at you, the thing is to recover, try and learn from it and move forward.

“I’ll go over the game and see where I could have done better and where we could have done better as a team, there has to be a stage where you are moving forward focusing on next week, you can’t dwell on this too much, you have to be up for the new challenge.”