Bath led in injury time at Le Stadium following full-back Abendanon's 77th-minute try, but they were then undone by a sixth David Skrela penalty as Toulouse stole an 18-16 Pool Five win.

Abendanon said: "Not many teams come to Toulouse and give them the runaround.

"It was an awesome effort and we didn't deserve to lose. We will take the positives because we can be the number one team in this group.

"If we want to be a champion side, then these are the games we have to win.

"It was heartbreaking and we're all gutted. We came so close - the lads are devastated."

Scrum-half Michael Claassens also touched down for Bath, who came within seconds of recording arguably their greatest Heineken Cup victory since beating Brive to lift the trophy 10 years ago.

Leicester, who are seeking to emulate Toulouse as three-time European champions this season, launched their campaign by grounding the Ospreys 12-6 at Welford Road.

Fly-half Toby Flood delivered an impressive display in front of watching England coaches John Wells and Mike Ford, booting four penalties before limping off nursing a dead leg.

But the Tigers were forced to withstand sustained late Ospreys pressure before South African Derick Hougaard - Flood's replacement - cleared the danger with a 50-metre clearance kick.