The Welford Road side looked in pole position to claim a first European trophy for 19 years in the second half when leading 17-10, but a try from Johan Goosen and a penalty from Benoit Paillaugue was enough for Montpellier to claim victory.

But despite falling just short, Borthwick couldn’t hide how proud he is of his fledgling side despite being disappointed to fall at the final hurdle.

“I think that, overall, we’ve got to be very proud,” Borthwick said at the post-match press conference. “I think that everyone at Leicester Tigers, every supporter, will be very proud of Tom and the team and the way he led and the way the team attacked that game.

“Yes, we got ourselves in a position to win the game and we didn’t. So, there’s plenty for us to learn and that in itself, I think, is a positive; that we can be so close and still have so much growth in us.

“We’re disappointed but, at the same time, proud. One certain positive out of this game is that we’ve played against Montpellier who are an outstanding team, [with a] huge budget, players star-studded throughout, and we came very close to beating them.

“At the same point in time, we’re sat here going: ‘We could be so much better.’ And these players, the number of players, when you look at Freddie Steward, you look at Dan Kelly, you look at Cam Henderson, who came on. Tommy Reffell, who’s only 22 years old.

“You’ve got a number of players here that have played less than 20 games for Leicester Tigers. [That] is astronomical. So, there’s a lot of potential for growth for us, and that in itself is positive.”

Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick is taking the positives from Friday’s European Rugby Challenge Cup final defeat to Montpellier at Twickenham Stadium.