I’m proud to be part of this group - Vunipola

Billy Vunipola couldn’t hide his pride in his post-match interview following Saracens defeat to Racing 92 in the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final.

The Men in Black displayed courage in abundance and battled hard like they have done all season but suffered heartbreak via a late home try in Paris.

“I’m proud to be part of this group,” the Number 8 said.

“People on the outside can say what they like about us but unless you’re in the environment you won’t know what it’s like.

“People on the outside can say what they like about us but unless you’re in the environment you won’t know what it’s like."

“We’ve been here before; we’ve lost finals before and we’ve only got better. It’s probably a fitting end to our year and we’ll be back. We’ll always be back and I’m looking forward to it.

“Sometimes you always want to talk about the good times but games like this humble you. Mark my words we’ll be back.”

Saracens led 15-12 going into the final five minutes courtesy of Alex Goode’s boot before a bit of Finn Russell magic saw Juan Imhoff go over for the game-deciding score.

Earlier in the game, Mark McCall lost Duncan Taylor to injury and skipper Brad Barritt was also forced off which meant minutes for Dom Morris and Manu Vunipola who didn’t shy away from anything against an experienced Racing outfit.

“I think for me there was more positive than negatives,” Vunipola said. “Seeing people like Dom Morris and my little cousin (play well)… in terms of exposure to this level they’re still babies.

“Most other teams would’ve broken. We lose our skipper, we’re thin on ice anyway and we still managed to scrap.

“It was a lovely try to win the game and they probably deserved to win the game. We can’t say anything other than we were beaten by a better team and we wish them all the luck for the next round.”