Director of rugby Jake White remained positive after the Vodacom Bulls were denied a hard-earned victory by Lyon in the Champions Cup on Saturday night.
Thibault Regard was the late hero as the French outfit recovered to snatch a dramatic bonus-point 29-28 win inside the final 10 minutes at Matmut Stadium de Gerland.
The Bulls came into the match high on confidence following a win at home against Premiership champions Saracens in Pretoria last week, and the visitors were even sharper off the mark on the road.
Zak Burger and Sergeal Petersen crossed the whitewash for The Herd in the first half, and two penalties from Chris Smith gave White’s men an 18-12 lead at half time.
Marco van Staden barged over in the second 40 minutes, with Smith adding the extras, but Regard put the hosts ahead once and for all four minutes later to help secure their first win of the campaign.
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Speaking post-match in France, White remarked: “We are disappointed to walk away from the match as the side that lost because we will probably walk away feeling as if we should have won that one, which is impressive for us and is a sign of the great depth that we are working on as a club to be able to rotate our side and come to France and take the game to them like we did.
“To stay in the game and in the end lose by one point is a sign of how tight and how tough this competition is. You need to be on top of your game from start to finish otherwise you allow the other side an opportunity to steal it from you.
“Having said all that, I am extremely proud of the character and spirit that the team showed to stay in the fight right until the very last minute and the last play of the match, the boys must take that as a pat on the back.
“We will get better and we will learn as we go forward, even if sometimes the results do not go your way. We now return home with a point away from home and we will go back to work on Monday as we prepare for another big week ahead.”
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