Exeter head coach Ali Hepher praised the determination of his side to earn a try-scoring bonus point in their 39-28 Champions Cup defeat at Bulls.

"Any points in this competition are huge because there's only 20 up for grabs," Hepher told BBC Radio Devon.

"I'm pleased to fight back, we showed good sprit."

He added: "We showed good energy coming back towards then end of the game and we looked the stronger side in that last part."

Exeter slipped to fourth place in Pool A of the Champions Cup after the loss in Pretoria, but are guaranteed a knockout place after securing a top-eight spot in the group.

Hepher felt his side's discipline still needs to be improved as the 2020 European champions gave up important field position at the breakdown.

"We just made too many mistakes and gave away too many penalties," he added.

"We were a little bit slow on the inside clear and they got over the ball too many times and our energy and enthusiasm to get there at speed was lacking.

"We've just got to cut our penalties overall, in every game we're giving teams an extra six penalties than what we should be doing

"But, all in all, I'm pleased to get the bonus point, but we've got to learn those lessons around the penalties."