Rush’s Blues eventually lost out to the French champions 12-6, but were camped on the home try line in the final ten minutes of a pulsating encounter they believed they could have won.
The New Zealander turned down a succession of kickable penalties in the closing period in favour of going all out for the win and the former All Black says he has no regret despite leaving the Stade Jean Boin with one point and not four.
He said: “Had we opted to kick at goal then we’d have needed two scores just to get level and we came here to win.
“I’m very proud of the performance today and all year to be honest. The boys did all I could have asked of them but we couldn’t get a break. Stade defended very well on the fringes and a losing bonus points isn’t a disaster. We can look forward to the re-match now.”
However, Martyn Williams was more rueful of the Blues’ missed opportunity.
“We spent 10 minutes on camped on their line at the end there but we kept putting the final pass down or couldn’t keep the driving line-out up. It was a great effort by them but with a little bit more of a clinical edge we could have sneaked a win.
“They’re a top side. You don’t win 53 games at home without having something but we were far from blown away today. The group will come down to the last couple of games but for now we just need to take one game at a time.”
