European Rugby Champions Cup
Abendanon devastated by defeat in Champions Cup final
ESPN Staff
May 3, 2015
Nick Abendanon
Nick Abendanon© Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

Clermont Auvergne fullback Nick Abendanon was left "devastated" after they fell 24-18 to Toulon in the Champions Cup final on Saturday.

Abendanon scored a fantastic second-half try as he chipped over the Toulon defence to then collect the ball and go over but he was left to rue a wayward kick at the end of the first-half which ended up with Mathieu Bastareaud scoring.

"We are pretty devastated, I should have kicked that ball out at the end of the first half which cost us," said Abendanon. "We gave away some silly penalties and when you do that Leigh Halfpenny is going to take his opportunities.

"We felt like we were in the game until the final whistle went. We went through a lot of phases towards the end and put them under a lot of pressure. I felt we were going to break their wall and get in somewhere for a try but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

"We lost so my try doesn't really mean anything to me. It was turnover ball which is always the best ball to attack from and I saw Leigh Halfpenny was in the front line and there was obviously nobody covering behind so I decided to chance my luck and it paid off."

And despite losing to Toulon in the European Cup final for the second time in three years, Abendanon is adamant the club can bounce back next season and end up triumphant.

"We will just go on playing in this tournament until we win it," he said. "We know we have got the team to do it. It just a few silly errors that cost us, you can't afford those errors when you are in the final against a team like Toulon."

© ESPN Staff

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