Disappointed Jake White reflects on Champions Cup loss

With a difficult schedule, the travelling Bulls left several superstars back in Pretoria for the trip to France. Despite this, they found themselves in control of the fixture in the second half, up 20-10. But a late rally from the spirited home side saw them secure a 29-28 victory.

Speaking to Rugby365 after the fixture, White admitted it feels like the one that got away. 

"We are disappointed to walk away from the match as the side that lost," reflected the World Cup-winning coach.

"We feel as if we should have won that one. It is a sign of the great depth that we are working on as a franchise, 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.

"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."

It's out of the frying pan and into the fire for the Bulls, who travel down to Cape Town for a key United Rugby Championship fixture this weekend.

Lying in wait is a Stormers outfit fresh off a thrilling victory over Champions Cup holders La Rochelle on Saturday. With both teams set to unleash their respective Springboks, the clash is shaping up to be a tantalising year-end encounter. 

READ MORE: Stormers revel in 'very special win' over European champions La Rochelle