The 2017 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup, and the twenty-second European club rugby final in general. It was contested by defending champions Saracens of England and French side Clermont at Murrayfield Stadium, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Saturday 13 May 2017. Saracens retained the trophy after claiming a 28–17 victory.

Background Reigning champions Saracens entered the final aiming to defend their title, having won the Champions Cup for the first time in their history when they defeated Racing 92 by 21–9 in the 2016 final. The club was also looking to set a new record for most unbeaten European fixtures in a row, after matching the record of 17 held by Leinster. Meanwhile, Clermont were seeking their first top-tier European trophy, following two prior defeats in the 2013 and 2015 finals, both against Toulon.

For the second year running, Welsh referee Nigel Owens 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). ClermontRound SaracensOpponentResultPool stageOpponentResult Exeter Chiefs35–8 (A)Matchday 1 Toulon31–23 (A) Bordeaux Bègles49–33 (H)Matchday 2 Scarlets44–26 (H) Ulster32–39 (A)Matchday 3 Sale Sharks50–3 (H) Ulster38–19 (H)Matchday 4 Sale Sharks24–10 (A) Bordeaux Bègles9–6 (A)Matchday 5 Scarlets22–22 (A) Exeter Chiefs48–26 (H)Matchday 6 Toulon10–3 (H)Pool 5 winner TeamPPts Clermont 6 26 Bordeaux Bègles 6 14 Exeter Chiefs 6 12 Ulster 6 10Final standingsPool 3 winner TeamPPts Saracens 6 24 Toulon 6 16 Scarlets 6 11 Sale Sharks 6 4OpponentResultKnock-out stageOpponentResult Toulon29–9 (H)Quarter-finals Glasgow Warriors38–13 (H) Leinster27–22 (H)Semi-finals Munster26–10 (A)

Match Summary After both teams enjoyed attacking spells in the opening 10 minutes without putting points on the board, Saracens opened the scoring when the ball was spread towards the right wing to Alex Goode, who placed a grubber kick behind the Clermont defenders which was collected by Chris Ashton. 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 lock George Kruis powered over from close range for the team's second try, this time converted successfully by Owen Farrell. A short time later, Clermont responded when a break by Aurélien Rougerie set up centre Rémi Lamerat for their first try of the game, converted by scrum-half 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 full-back Scott Spedding counter-attacking from his own try line and ended with winger Nick Abendanon 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 was named the official Man of the Match, while fly-half Owen Farrell 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

FB 15 Scott Spedding RW 14 David StrettleOC 13 Aurélien Rougerie IC 12 Rémi LameratLW 11 Nick AbendanonFH 10 Camille LopezSH 9 Morgan Parra N8 8 Fritz Lee OF 7 Peceli Yato BF 6 Damien Chouly (c)RL 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina LL 4 Arthur IturriaTP 3 Davit Zirakashvili HK 2 Benjamin Kayser LP 1 Raphaël Chaume Substitutions:HK 16 John Ulugia PR 17 Étienne Falgoux PR 18 Aaron Jarvis LK 19 Paul Jedrasiak FL 20 Alexandre Lapandry SH 21 Ludovic Radosavljevic FH 22 Patricio Fernández WG 23 Damian Penaud Coach: Franck Azéma FB 15 Alex GoodeRW 14 Chris AshtonOC 13 Marcelo BoschIC 12 Brad Barritt (c) LW 11 Chris Wyles FH 10 Owen FarrellSH 9 Richard Wigglesworth N8 8 Billy VunipolaOF 7 Jackson Wray BF 6 Michael RhodesRL 5 George KruisLL 4 Maro Itoje TP 3 Vincent Koch HK 2 Jamie George LP 1 Mako Vunipola Substitutions:HK 16 Schalk Brits PR 17 Titi Lamositele PR 18 Petrus du Plessis LK 19 Jim Hamilton FL 20 Schalk Burger SH 21 Ben Spencer FH 22 Alex Lozowski CE 23 Duncan Taylor Coach: Mark McCall Man of the Match: Billy Vunipola (Saracens)

Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland) Ian Davies (Wales) Television match official: Jon Mason (Wales)

References