This will prove yet another bitter pill for Saracens to swallow . The hurt of losing back-to-back European and domestic finals last year took Mark McCall ’ s men all of last summer and a good chunk of this season to overcome . This time they must lick their wounds and refocus their efforts on the Aviva Premiership after coming up short against Clermont . Clermont warm up in front of their supporters at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne . Clermont centre Wesley Fofana attempts an offload following a crunching hit from Marcelo Bosch . Saracens flanker Maro Itojie secures a loose ball on the deck during a tight first half of action . There should be no shame in this defeat . Whereas Northampton capitulated embarrassingly against the same opponents a fortnight ago , Saracens stood tall on Saturday . Saracens ’ long-suffering chairman Nigel Wray , who has pumped tens of millions of pounds into this club over the past two decades , took the opportunity on Saturday morning to repeat his conviction that English clubs will never be able to compete with French teams if the domestic salary cap is not raised . But it can only be a matter of time before Saracens deliver . With five of their starting pack under the age of 24 — all English qualified — they have forwards who will surely develop into a world-class outfit . Twenty-year-old Maro Itoje was impressive making his first start in Europe , while the Vunipola brothers were magnificent . Ultimately the better side won , and Clermont will head into their second European final confident they can land their first European title . Saracens pressurised Clermont with the same fierce defence that knocked them so spectacularly off their stride in last year ’ s semi-final at Twickenham . Sarries No 8 Billy Vunipola makes a strong run as Radosavljevic tries to halt his progress . The difference this time was that Clermont knew what was coming and were able to keep their wits about them , buoyed by a partisan crowd . ‘ I ’ ve never experienced an atmosphere like that , ’ said McCall . ’ The effort and many aspects of our performance were phenomenal . We made Clermont play a a game they didn ’ t want to play . The game was on a knife edge with 10 minutes to go but games like that are decided by small margins. ’ As evidence of their dominance , Clermont will point to Wesley Fofana ’ s superbly taken second-half try and a 19th-minute incident which saw Naipolini Nalaga denied what should have been a penalty try . Chris Ashton knocked him into touch without attempting to wrap his arms around him . Saracens full back Alex Goode tries to sidestep Clermont scrum half Ludovic Radosavljevic . But , had Jacques Burger been able to cling on to a knock-on from Nalaga with less than 10 minutes on the clock after Richard Wigglesworth ’ s superb chase and tackle of Alex Goode ’ s clearance , Saracens could so easily have won this game . It is hard to comprehend how the club will pick themselves up from yet another shattering defeat to deliver domestic silverware . But , after winning at Racing Metro in the quarter final while watching Premiership rivals Northampton capitulate to Clermont two weeks ago , McCall ’ s men still have every chance of delivering a trophy this season . ‘ It won ’ t deter us from our goal , ’ insisted Wigglesworth , who is playing the best rugby of his career . Richard Wigglesworth feeds the ball into a Saracens scrum as referee George Clancy watches on . ‘ It ’ s easy to focus on the negatives when we have just lost a game like that . But we ’ re unbelievably proud of that performance and we ’ ve got a week to rest out battered bodies and go again. ’ Saracens face Northampton at Stadium MK next Saturday , before having the following weekend off when they will watch on enviously as Clermont contest the Champions Cup final at Twickenham against either Leinster or Toulon , who will go head to head on Sunday . But on reflection , Saracens will be buoyed by this performance . Itoje is a rare prospect capable of explosive bursts of power and hugely athletic around the field while Billy and Mako Vunipola are two of the most destructive carriers in Europe . They have both returned to their best following a slow start to the season , while Saracens scrum is also in fine shape . Saracens fly half Charlie Hodgson clears his lines under pressure from the Clermont defence . Charlie Hodgson missed two critical long-range penalties on Saturday but the veteran fly half has been magnificent this season and the second-half appearance of Owen Farrell from the bench saw the England No 10 make his first appearance since rupturing knee ligaments in January . With Schalk Britz and Brad Barritt both fit again , only the absence of Captain Alistair Hargreaves with concussion-related symptoms weakens McCall ’ s squad . They will hurt from this no doubt . But in the cold light of day , Saracens will realise many of their boys became men on Saturday . The future remains bright for them on the field .
Saracens lead 6-3 at the break thanks to two Charlie Hodgson penalties . England have won their last three matches against Italy and France but they are still without a win in five games on tour so far this year.