A “gutted” Aled Summerhill admits his side were made to pay for missed opportunities, as Leicester Tigers snatched a last gasp victory in the Challenge Cup on Saturday.
The wing had put his side ahead with a first half try, but Wales’ Capital Region were unable to add further points in the second half, as a Tom Hardwick penalty sealed it at the death for the English outfit.
Summerhill couldn’t fault the effort from his side, but
“We’re just gutted, really,” said the wing. “We expected to win but we weren’t good enough. We’ve been working hard over the last weeks, had some good wins and wanted to get another one out there in front of our own crowd.
“But that didn’t happen. It’s time to go back in on Monday and sort things out.
“We had a lot of ball and the coaches said after the game about how much possession we had but weren’t able to finish it off.
“Against a good team like Leicester, you know they’ll come back to hurt you, which they did right at the end of the game.
“You need to win your home games, but we’ll back ourselves for the rest of the campaign and get an away win. We have to keep working hard and hopefully that will come.
“It was quite tight at half time but we felt quite comfortable out there. There were a few mistakes in defence that cost us, which they scored from, but apart from that we felt comfortable.
“But in the second half there were some silly mistakes and they came into the game right at the end.”
Summerhill also had an effort chalked off as television replays showed his elbow had scrapped the touchline as he dived in at the corner, following a tackle from Sam Costelow.
The wing admits the small margins can be crucial, but insists it’s vital that his side look to bounce back as they return to Guinness PRO14 action with a trip to face Benetton Rugby next week.
He added: “It’s been an up-and-down season, but to be fair to the boys and everyone involved we have been working hard.
“Hopefully the results will come sooner rather than later.
“It could’ve been a different interview, had I scored in the corner with five minutes left.
“I would’ve like to had finished that, but it wasn’t to be.
“It was tight, but it’s those small margins that can make a difference. It was a great tackle to be fair.
“All the boys are disappointed right now but we can’t dwell on this.
“We have to work hard next week ahead of what is a big trip to Treviso, who will be fully loaded.
“We’ll be missing some boys, so it will be a tough test but hopefully the boys involved will relish it and put a good performance in.”