The 2017 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match in the

2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup The 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup was the third European Rugby Champions Cup championship (22nd overall), the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. The competition replaced the Heineken ...

, and the twenty-second European club rugby final in general. It was contested by defending champions

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

of England and French side Clermont at

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest sta ...

, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, on Saturday 13 May 2017. Saracens retained the trophy after claiming a 28–17 victory.

Background

Reigning champions

entered the final aiming to defend their title, having won the Champions Cup for the first time when they defeated

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name ...

by 21–9 in the 2016 final. The club was also looking to break the record for most unbeaten European fixtures in a row, after matching the record of 17 held by

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

. Meanwhile, Clermont were seeking their first top-tier European trophy, following two prior defeats in the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

finals, both to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. For the second year running, Welsh referee

Nigel Owens Nigel Owens, (born 18 June 1971) is a Welsh former international rugby union referee, who retired in December 2020 after a 17-year career. He currently holds the world record for the most test matches refereed and is one of five international re ...

officiated the Champions Cup final – in doing so, he also became the first official to referee 100 European club rugby matches.

Route to the final

''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''

Match

Summary

After both teams enjoyed attacking spells in the opening 10 minutes without putting points on the board,

opened the scoring when the ball was spread towards the right wing to

Alex Goode Alexander David Goode (born 7 May 1988) is an English professional rugby union player playing for Saracens in Premiership Rugby. Biography All-rounder Goode appeared at the national schools athletics finals, played county tennis and was part ...

, who placed a grubber kick behind the Clermont defenders which was collected by

Chris Ashton Christopher John Ashton (born 29 March 1987) is an English rugby union and former rugby league player, and one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. A wing or fullback, he joined Leicester Tigers of Premiersh ...

. The try, which could not be converted, saw Ashton overtake Vincent Clerc as the top try scorer in European rugby history. Saracens extended their lead soon after when

George Kruis George Edward John Kruis (born 22 February 1990) is an English former professional rugby union player. He played Rugby union positions#Locks, lock for Saracens F.C., Saracens and represented England national rugby union team, England and the Br ...

powered over from close range for the team's second try, this time converted successfully by

Owen Farrell Owen Andrew Farrell (born 24 September 1991) is an English professional rugby union player, currently captain of Gallagher Premiership side Saracens. Farrell has played international rugby for England since 2012. Farrell is one of the top poi ...

. A short time later, Clermont responded when a break by Aurélien Rougerie set up Remi Lamerat for their first try of the game, converted by Morgan Parra. This left the half-time score at 12–7 to Saracens. In the second half, the first ten minutes again went scoreless, until a Farrell penalty. Clermont then brought the game to within just one point via a team move, which started with

Scott Spedding Scott Spedding (born 4 May 1986 in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a retired French rugby union player. His position is fullback and he last played for Castres Olympique in the Top 14. He retired in 2019. Spedding attended St. John's College, Jo ...

counter-attacking from his own try line and ended with

Nick Abendanon Nick Abendanon (born 27 August 1986 in Bryanston, South Africa) is a former England international rugby union player. His preferred position was full-back. He has Dutch nationality through his parents. Abendanon burst onto the scene during the ...

going over for the try, converted again by Parra. Following an exchange of penalties between Farrell and Parra, which kept the scoreline at a one-point advantage to Saracens, each team had try-scoring opportunities, but to no avail. Finally, in the closing stages, Saracens made their persistent pressure count when Goode crossed the line for a try in the corner, with Farrell landing a difficult conversion from out wide. With one last penalty, Saracens cemented their victory at 28–17, becoming only the fourth reigning champions in the tournament's 22-year history to successfully retain their title. Saracens Number 8

Billy Vunipola Billy Vunipola (born 3 November 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays at Number 8 for Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership and for the England national team. Born in Australia to Tongan parents, he qualified for England throu ...

was named the official

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

, while

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

was presented with the 2017 ERCC Player of the Year Award. In securing victory, Saracens also achieved a record 18 consecutive unbeaten European games – a record stretching back to the first round of the 2015–2016 cup.

Details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Europe

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

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ASM Clermont Auvergne matches Saracens F.C. matches 2016–17 in French rugby union 2016–17 in English rugby union European Rugby Champions Cup Final European Rugby Champions Cup Final Rugby union in Edinburgh International sports competitions in Edinburgh 2010s in Edinburgh