Johan Ackermann reflects on agonising defeat in Champions Cup Round of 16

Ackermann also revealed the Pretoria side did not have the best build-up to the match, with several players falling sick, meaning they were uncertain who would be able to start the game.

"First of all, I'm extremely proud of the players and the effort they put in," he said after the game.

"It was a challenging week, not as an excuse, but we had a lot of players sick early in the week, and even yesterday and today, there were moments that we didn't know if Harold [Vorster] or Handre [Pollard] were going to play.

"But the character they showed, the fight … I'm very proud. In tough conditions, we were not far from getting the victory."

The Bulls made a strong start to the match and looked as if they might be able to pull off an upset before a series of mistakes and poor execution allowed the Scots back into the game.

"We didn't use all our opportunities in the 22," Ackermann explained.

"Unfortunately, a few of the kick-offs come to mind where we didn't exit well and made mistakes.

"We also gave them soft entries through our discipline - offsides a few times - and that gave them territory and possession. Credit to them, they used it and scored.

"If we fix our discipline, we're probably in the game a lot more. That was a big thing for us.

"Even the last kick-off, we wanted the ball to roll dead, but it didn't. On an artificial pitch, it often does. It just didn't go our way.

"I don't think people realise how tough the conditions were, especially in the second half," he added. "We were playing into a very strong wind. At one stage they kicked the ball and it rolled almost 70m.

"The players had to dig deep to stay in the fight. It's easy to criticise from far, but those were tough conditions.

"The defeat hurts but that competition is done. Now we turn our attention to the URC."