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Pretoria - Bulls captain Adriaan Strauss says it was 'devastating' to see fans leaving Loftus Versveld before the final whistle of Saturday's clash against the Crusaders.
The Bulls were smashed 62-24, conceding 10 tries in their biggest ever Super Rugby home loss, and frustrated fans could be seen leaving the 'fortress' from as early as half time.
The Bulls have a proud Super Rugby history and are the most successful South African side in the history of the competition having won in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
But this season they have limped to just three wins from nine and, following this latest disappointment, the Bulls have reached rock bottom.
Speaking after the match, Strauss said seeing Bulls fans leaving before full time was tough to take.
"It's devastating," he said.
"There is no space to go sit in the corner, we need to fight back. It's a very bad loss and it's not good to see that, definitely not."
"We lost against the best team in the competition tonight and we saw as a team that we're not there yet. We just need to work harder."
Strauss was also alerted at his post-match press conference that this was the worst Super Rugby loss for the Bulls in Loftus history.
"It is bad to hear that and to know that but the loss itself tonight hurts enough," he said.
"To lose with this margin and in front of your home crowd ... I don't think it can hurt more or less, it just hurts.
"It''s disappointing. We're hurting and we know the fans are hurting with us. We were definitely beaten by a better side but the effort ... we need to be better. We need to put up a better performance at Loftus where the support is here and the fans are. We know that responsibility."
The Bulls will have a chance to redeem themselves when they take on the Highlanders at Loftus on Saturday.
