Ospreys skipper Ryan Jones said that the squad is feeling "dejected and disheartened" after a narrow defeat at the hands of Biarritz on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to the media post-match, he said:
"It hurts after a defeat like that. I'm really proud of this team. We've come out and played, but at times we made a couple of errors and they closed the game out. We scored some good tries, took some fantastic chances, but unfortunately we didn't quite have enough at the end to pip them.
"We created some good stuff but there was maybe some half chances that we didn't take. There were a couple of pops at goal, a couple of lineouts, a few scrums where we made mistakes, and if you add them all up, if we'd got them right we may well have had a very different result.
"A lot of people had written us off before we'd even come out here. We've come to a fantastic arena, against a very good team, and gone out and played, created. We showed a lot of courage and there was a lot of good stuff out there but unfortunately, the result stands and that's the end of our European campaign for another year.
"Either one of us could have taken that result at the end. We were there or thereabouts, we were one decision, one play one error away. That's all that separated the teams today. Like I said, the guys come out today and played, they never gave up, and that's all you can ask of a group of players. I think we are definitely a force, we are regularly at this end of the competition, and I believe that we are one of the teams that people don't look forward to playing.
"At the moment the squad is feeling dejected and disheartened, there are some upset blokes in the dressing room. They've put their bodies and hearts on the line, and come off second best. It's tough, but that's sport isn't it. That's why 25,000 people turned up to watch it.
"I'd like to offer my personal thanks to all the supporters who came out here this weekend and were absolutely brilliant. They got behind us and made themselves heard amongst the home support, we really appreciated it and are extremely grateful for that backing. In particular, I'd like to thank the fans who waited outside by the bus for us after the game, the reception we got from them was tremendous and really helped to lift the boys at a time when we are feeling down, so I can't thank them enough on behalf of the team for that."
About the decision not to award a penalty at the end, Ryan said:
"The referee said it was a penalty at the end, but he said we didn't have time. I'm not going to criticise the officials. Everyone saw it, everyone can deliberate it over the next few weeks, and everyone will make their own decision."