Saints' 'bunch of mates' will stick together after defeat in Cardiff showpiece
Fin Smith says sticking together is key for Saints as they look to come to terms with Saturday's Investec Champions Cup final defeat in Cardiff.
The black, green and gold were edged out 28-20 by French side Union Bordeaux-Bègles after a battling performance at the Principality Stadium.
Saints gave it their all, but the loss of James Ramm, George Furbank and Temo Mayanavanua to injury during the first half cost them dear.
And Smith feels his side should be proud of the work they put in on the way to, and during, the final.
“We are just a little team from a small town in England with a bunch of mates playing together," Smith said.
“Bordeaux are a giant of European rugby with some absolute rock stars in their team and some unbelievable firepower.
“So, to have gone toe-to-toe with them for 80 minutes – or a large part of that – particularly with some of the adversity we had to face with injuries and yellow cards, is something we can look back on with pride.
“The main thing is to stay together as a group, because it is easy to splinter when you have had a knock like this. I need to dust myself off and try to switch off from that result.
“Ultimately, until you play in another big final and get the result you want, it is always going to sting and sit there in the back of your mind. That is just the way it is.”
Ramm and Furbank were both forced off inside five minutes in Cardiff.
And Smith said: "It was tough, particularly with those early injuries we had, we were really going to have to go to the well.
"I thought we ran incredibly hard for each other, hit incredibly hard for each other, but ultimately they just had too much.
"I thought we fought really hard, but incredibly gutted."
He added: "We just tried to focus on what we wanted to do rather than the occasion.
"It was an unbelievable atmosphere and it's always amazing to play in games like that.
"Doing that definitely makes us want more so hopefully we'll be back."