Captain Gethin Jenkins praised the young stars in the Cardiff Blues squad for proving themselves as they produced a big display in an epic encounter with Montpellier in France.
Danny Wilson’s men suffered late heartbreak in the European Rugby Challenge Cup as a home try was awarded - after lengthy consultation with the TMO - deep into stoppage time at the Altrad Stadium.
Wales international Jenkins admitted the manner of defeat was hard to take after such a heroic defensive display by Cardiff Blues.
But he was quick to praise the impact of a number of young stars as the likes of Garyn Smith – on his European debut – Jarrod Evans, Ethan Lewis and Dillon Lewis all played a big part in the encounter.
“There were a lot of young players out there for us who proved themselves,” he said.
“I thought Garyn Smith was very good and Jarrod Evans showed what a good player he is. The young forwards stood up well too.
“There are things to work on, like clearing our own lines and getting out of our half, but it’s something to build on.
“We had a few losses at the start of the season so it’s been nice to get a few wins. We are bitterly disappointed by the Montpellier result as we are working hard to put things in place.
“We have some big derby games coming up now so we rest up and look forward to Dragons.
“We need to start climbing up the Guinness PRO12 table. We had a good result against Connacht and need to back that up.
“The Dragons in Newport is a tough place to go, but we will take confidence from the way we are playing.
“We are doing good things in attack and have shown tenacity and line speed in defence and some of the tackles we are putting in is great to see. We have to tighten up but it gives confidence.”