Leinster coach Joe Schmidt praised his side after revealing they were 'gutted' to be leaving Clermont with just a bonus point.
Leinster boss feels for players after Cup defeat
Leinster coach Joe Schmidt praised his side after revealing they were 'gutted' to be leaving Clermont with just a bonus point.
The Irish went down 20-13 to the French champions as they relinquished their 100 per cent record in Pool 2 of the Heineken Cup, Anthony Floch getting the go-ahead try for Clermont.
However, Leinster played their part in an enthralling match and Schmidt felt his side deserved more.
"There's no such thing (as a good defeat). We're absolutely gutted," he said. "We feel we didn't quite get the rub of the green - a few things didn't quite go our way.
"We do, at the same time, take our hats off to Clermont. You know once they get momentum - and they got two very good tries - that they will be hard to stop."
Proud
Leinster were without Ireland internationals Brian O'Driscoll, Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney, but Eoin O'Malley and Fergus McFadden impressed in the visitors' back-line.
"I'm proud of them. Sometimes you don't get what you set out to try to achieve and it is frustrating but you can keep your head up when you try to your maximum. They deserved it," added Schmidt.
"I'm learning the whole time and I have confidence in these players. I think they sense that. If anything, if there is something in a good defeat, it's the one point and the belief that they will get from this."
The stage is now set for a mouthwatering return match at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday, when both sides know a defeat could all but end their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Clermont coach Vern Cotter was happy with the win but recognised that Leinster had perhaps earned their bonus point.
Strategy
"I think Leinster played well. They scored first and they put us under a lot of pressure. I didn't expect any less," he said.
"Joe knows us very well - he spent three years working with us. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses.
"He had a strategy that was pretty well to the mark. We learned something from that today.
"It was important to win and we knew right from the start that to access the competition and finish first - which was our objective - we had to win twice against Leinster.
"So we know the whole season or the qualification will revolve around a great performance next week at the Aviva Stadium."
