Proud of Harlequins' achievment in last six years - Conor O'Shea

Outgoing director of rugby at Harlequins Conor O'Shea praised his team's fighting performance in the European Challenge Cup final against Montpellier despite losing the game 19-26.

Replacement Jesse Mogg scored two tries, one in each half, while fly-half Demetri Catrakilis contributed with 16 points which includes four penalties and two conversions to ensure Montpellier overcame late resistance from Quins.

By 70th minute, Montpellier looked comfortable after leading 26-9 but Harlequins scored 10 points in next six minutes to give the French team a scare.

Happy with the fight shown by his team, O'Shea said that the players will be "gutted" after losing the chance to clinch the Challenge Cup.

"We fought to the bitter end, and for that I am proud," O'Shea said.

"That was a final against an outstanding side. The couple of chances we did have, which can give you momentum, didn't go our way.

"At 26-9 down, there were two options. The options were to raise the white flag or fight, and they fought until the bitter end.

"We are gutted at the moment, but the team should be hugely proud of what they achieved in the six years I have been with them. It is a very special group of people, and I have been lucky to have the opportunity.

"We know where we lost momentum for the second season a row - during the Six Nations. That is something we have to solve as a group in the future.

"Hopefully what we've done for English rugby, for Harlequins and England, has been a real positive. But are we gutted at the moment? I am gutted for these fellas. They give so much."

A minute-long silence was observed before the kick-off in memory of Seb Adeniran-Olule, who recently died at the age of 20 in a traffic collision. Adeniran-Olule's initials were embroidered on Quins' shirts, while the players also wore black armbands.

Having been an emotional last few days, O'Shea said the players showed a lot of character till the last minute, which is a fitting tribute to Adeniran-Olule.

"That group of players put in a performance for a young man who lost his life this week.

"Hopefully, he will have been looking down on us proudly. They never stopped trying. They played with his name on the shirt and kept going to the bitter end."

Meanwhile, Montpellier managed to win their first major trophy under South Africa's 2007 World Cup winning coach Jake White.

White, who joined the club in 2014, believes the hardwork the players have put over the years has paid dividends.

"It's special.When you start with a team, it takes time for them to develop. When you play against a team like Harlequins, they've been together for a long time, they have a lot of international players and have won this competition three times.

"As a coach, just watching them (Montpellier) tonight and seeing how they've developed makes me really happy to see that the whole group really understands what is needed to win something.

"Maybe not the Champions Cup, but next year we will be playing in the Champions Cup, and that's a great measurement because we will be playing the likes of Saracens, Leinster and Munster.

"I am really happy, and more proud because this group of players now understands just how tough it is to win something.

"Winning creates a habit, and I know we have some really tough games coming up. But when you win, you get an understanding of what it's like to win and what is needed to win.

"I have to believe that this team can go on and win something else."