A visibly emotional Kyle Sinckler expressed his hurt at being overlooked by the British and Irish Lions in a moving post-match interview.
England prop Sinckler, a tourist in 2017, missed out on selection for the upcoming tour of South Africa after Warren Gatland named his 37-man squad on Thursday - despite being widely expected to tour.
The tighthead responded in ideal fashion, putting in a man-of-the-match performance in Bristol's 40-24 victory over Bath.
And his emotion poured out in the post-match interview, with the 28-year-old on the verge of tears as he explained how hard he had taken his Lions rejection.
"It's been an emotional week, especially for myself," said Sinckler. "I want to thank my teammates, my family, my loved ones for helping me.
"From a team's perspective, how good! First-half wasn't great, but second-half we dug in.
"I'm not going to lie, I'm quite emotional right now. It's been tough.
"It means so much to me. I'm just lucky I've got my mentor at Saviour World and we broke it down. I kind of understand the reasons why.
"I think, in a year or two, I'll look back and it'll all make sense. Right now, it doesn't make sense
"But what I wanted to do was lead by example and show the kids. How easy would it have been for me to play the victim, say 'sorry me' and throw my toys out of the pram.
"It's been so tough. I've never experienced anything like this in my whole life.
"I'm just lucky I've got a good support team around me. I wanted to show the kids and everyone at home how much it means to me.
"Do the tough stuff, get on with it, use that anger.
"I've got so much anger in me right now but actually use it in a positive way and do what's best for the team.
"I think I did that today."
