Leo Cullen admitted his Leinster side were "devastated" after yet another Investec Champions Cup final loss, this time at the hands of Toulouse.
Beaten by La Rochelle in the last two deciders, Leinster fell to a 31-22 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a match that went to extra-time.
"We poured a huge amount into this campaign.
"There's two very good teams going at it so it was probably a game about taking opportunities, that was so important."
Leinster dominated many of the statistics. They were better than Ugo Mola’s side in defenders beaten, offloads, passes, possession and territory but ultimately failed to score more than one try, which came in the first half of extra-time.
"We had plenty of opportunities, couldn’t quite nail them, and Toulouse scrambled well," added the head coach.
"They pushed the boundaries at times, in terms of defending their own tryline.
"They dug in well. We are pretty devastated again.
"Our season is not over, we need to turn our attention to the URC. It’s important we show character as a group.
"Devastating day today, credit to Toulouse, showed some of the champion qualities that they have, particularly Antoine Dupont came up with big moment for his team at different stages.
"We don’t try to live too much with regret, the guys give everything that they have out there. Some opportunities, being more clinical overall.
"It was an unbelievably tight game, when it goes to extra-time, again they take their opportunity on the edge and a couple of penalties.
"There was nothing between the teams, as you saw, hugely frustrating. It’s another painful experience but it’s about us as a group showing character and turning the page for the rest of the season."
Toulouse’s try-scorer Mathis Lebel (above), whose side lost semi-finals to Leinster in the last two seasons, said: "When one has worked for a long time together to win this, this sparks a lot of emotion.
"Everyone remained focused on this as a target despite the disappointment of the World Cup.
"We did not want to boast or brag too much as the season progressed but little by little we gained in confidence and we have succeeded in our goal.
"We gained a lot of pleasure from this match.
"We were eager obviously to play for each other today but when we saw the supporters, and that the Capitole Square was full, that puts an extra pep in one's step.
"This final is for everybody I think."
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
