And as well as lamenting being edged out by the former European champions, Lineen is also still hurting at the earlier reverse against Newport-Gwent Dragons.

He said: "We are very frustrated. The guys had a lot of belief going down there. They are an exceptional bunch of players, and they want to win.

"Losing against Newport-Gwent Dragons in our opening game was the killer for us. We were 10-0 up in that game, then their forwards came back and dominated the contest.

"It would have been fantastic to get a result here, but ultimately we need to tighten our defence and we've got to learn when to play - and when not to play.

"We came up short, but the players are hurting. We deserved to maybe get a bit more."