Opposition view: 'It just hurts' - Tigers 'devastated' after defeat to Saints
Boss Geoff Parling admitted Leicester Tigers were ‘devastated’ and ‘gutted’ after their 45-31 Gallagher PREM play-off semi-final defeat at Saints on Friday night.
Tigers gave their all at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, but it wasn’t enough as the black, green and gold booked their ticket to the final at Allianz Stadium with a breathtaking home performance.
And Parling said: “We are devastated.
"We feel like we've got an incredibly special group that have come together and developed a game and worked hard for each other.
"We feel the togetherness in the group is something exceptional so we're devastated to fall short.
"But fair play to Saints - I thought they were outstanding. I thought their speed in attack was exceptional.
"I probably don't think today was lost today. I thought it was because of what they'd done (finishing top of the table), they afford themselves the luxury of being able to rest players last week and it looked like they had a little bit more zip. We've had two short turnarounds into this.
"I'm really proud of my guys, I thought the effort was outstanding and I'm gutted to fall short."
Tigers managed to stay in the game despite Saints, who led 26-19 at the break, threatening to run them off their feet at times.
“We spoke at half-time that they'd had lots of starters in our half, we'd had very minimal in theirs,” Parling said.
"The speed that they were playing with, it was around our double shots in defence and we struggled to slow them down there.
"I'm incredibly proud of the group, the players, everyone involved in the club.
"This hurts.
"We've got to come back with the guys who are still here next year and I already know some of those things we want to work on.
"But for now, I want to speak to the blokes, share a beer with them because it's been an incredibly special group that's worked very hard for each other.
"I've not done it, the players have done it. They've made a decision to come together and fight for each other.
"Someone like Ollie Chessum has been outstanding for us, and I mean that - outstanding.
"The group means a lot to the lads in there and it just hurts.”