Chouly reflects on missed chances

Clermont captain Damien Chouly was left wondering what might have been after his side fell short in the Champions Cup final.

Les Jaunards fell behind in the first half after Saracens scored tries through Chris Ashton and George Kruis.

But Clermont showed great spirit to battle their way back into the contest, scoring a spectacular try through Nick Abendanon from a Peceli Yato offload, to set up a tense finish at 17-18 going into the final ten minutes.

Alex Goode then struck to kill off the fightback, as Clermont became the first club to lose the European Cup final on three occasions.

"Every game is special, that one was. What we needed to win was to play for the full 80 minutes. Saracens were able to do that," Chouly told EPC Rugby.

"We came back every time, but we left tries out there. It is in this area that we must make further progress."

Clermont's focus is now on the Top 14 semi-finals, as they bid to win a first French title since 2010, and while Chouly was thrilled with his side's character he recognised where Clermont came up short.

"It's always tough to hold on to a lead," he added.

"We showed character because they quickly went ahead but we did not give up. We could have avoided mistakes by playing better in attack and in defense. But in the end, we ended up cracking."