Sunday 31 May 2015 22:08, UK
Gloucester boss David Humphreys admitted it was a case of reflecting on what might have been after the Aviva Premiership club saw their hopes of European Champions Cup qualification ended in dramatic fashion.
Bordeaux-Begles fly-half Pierre Bernard dropped a goal with the game's final kick to secure a 23-22 victory for the French Top 14 club at Sixways.
Gloucester led the Champions Cup play-off clash 19-3 at one stage thanks to a Henry Purdy try and 14 points by scrum-half Greig Laidlaw, while Laidlaw's 74th-minute penalty edged them back in front 22-20.
But a touchdown in each half by strong-running Bordeaux wing Metuisela Talebulamaijaina, plus two penalties and two conversions by Bernard before his drop-goal, had Gloucester sweating before they saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
"Nobody likes to lose a game, especially of that importance, in that manner but I think you have to give credit to Bordeaux," Gloucester rugby director Humphreys said.
"With 20 seconds or so left on the clock we were probably one ruck away from winning the game, and they managed to turn the ball over and took their opportunity.
"Of course we are disappointed, and when we reflect on the game the game should have been dead and buried at half-time.
"We had a great opportunity to score but we turned the ball over and they went 90 metres to score just before half time and it's a one-score game.
"That is part of the squad-building. It feels like almost every game for the last couple of months has been a one-score game.
"We were disappointed in the Connacht (play-off) game last weekend to have 15 unforced errors, so we talked about that all week. We knew the danger of their back-three and we knew we had to hold on to the ball, so that was the disappointing aspect.
"We made as many line-breaks today probably as we had made in any game throughout the course of the season. You hope to finish one or two of those but today we just didn't do it."
