Cobus Reinach proud of Stormers effort but admits disappointment at defeat

"We can be proud, but we came here to win," Cobus Reinach said, reflecting on the Stormers' Investec Champions Cup heartbreak in Toulon.

The final whistle had sounded barely five minutes earlier when Charles Ollivon had held up the Stormers' last-gasp try effort on the line with the clock red, Toulon 28, Stormers 27.

The roar of Stade Mayol was still ringing around the Provençal evening, with the Stormers' Champions Cup campaign over by a single, agonising point.

In the mixed zone beneath the stands, Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu stood side by side. There was no dejection, but there was hurt, certainly.

Still, there was also the unmistakable composure of two players who knew they had given everything and come within a fingertip of pulling off something remarkable on one of European rugby's most hostile grounds.

"We came here to win, came to do a job, and we fell a bit short," Reinach said.

"I think when we got together and spoke to the boys afterwards, we said we can be proud of ourselves. We went guns firing. A decision here or there probably didn't go our way, but that's rugby," he assessed, speaking to Planet Rugby exclusively.

Having spent the last two years in France with Montpellier before his move to the Stormers, Reinach understands the rhythms of French rugby as well as any South African in the game. He knew what was coming at Mayol, and he had prepared his team accordingly.

"Being in France for two years, I kind of expected Toulon to come up guns blazing from the first whistle," he said.

"We prepped and we said, 'listen, we have to stay in the contest'. Playing away from home in France, in the Top 14, the away games are always the tough ones, because the 50/50 calls don't go your way.

"So we tried to put them under pressure at set piece, at their lineouts, and just keep going at them. At the end, we left it to a contest, and the 50/50 call didn't go for us."

It was a telling observation, delivered without bitterness but with the quiet clarity of a man who has played enough rugby in the south of France to know how these things can go.

The Stormers had legitimate grievances with several decisions across the 80 minutes. Reinach chose his words carefully, but the message was unmistakable.