Gutted and heartbroken at the end, but most of all bursting with pride at the effort the squad have shown throughout the season to go from relegation candidates to the final. In what has been a very difficult year I really do think they have given a lot of people hope for the future.
Sadly it wasn't to be today. Maybe had we not lost a week's prep we'd have faired better, or maybe we'd have knackered ourselves out on the training pitch.
Maybe Chesty and Kieran would have made a difference in the scrums, maybe they'd have been penalised off the park.
Maybe Brad and a 6/2 split on the bench would have helped us, maybe not.
Maybe it should have been a penalty try and/or just a yellow card for the line out collapse, maybe, as I felt at the time the ref got it wrong and it should have been a turnover to Exeter.
Maybe it would have been different had Barnes not tested positive, maybe he'd have been even harsher on is.
We battled, we had our big chance and we didn't take it. That's down to us as a team, not CMK, not Covid, not the weather. Looking for someone to blame won't change the facts or make us feel better. At the end of the day, Exeter are the best side in Europe for a reason.
Let's not spend ages stewing on what could have been or if a decision went the other way. It hurts, but we cannot change what happened (unless anyone has built a time machine that works...). We can only dictate what happens next.
Let's remember the hurt in watching Exeter lift the trophy today, and use it as the motivation to make sure we're back at Twickenham in June and this time we're victorious.
Always a Wasp