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And while the disappointment of missing out on the season's showpiece at Twickenham on May 19 was clear for all to see in Bordeaux, Malzieu insists Clermont have plenty of positives to take away from the 19-15 reverse as they look to go one step further in 2013.
"I don't think that this defeat signals a stop for the team," said Malzieu, who was forced off injured early on in Clermont's first Heineken Cup semi-final.
"The team stumbled on Sunday. All the players are hugely disappointed because we've been eliminated but we aren't knocked out in any other sense. It's logical to be disappointed after such a close defeat but I guarantee you we only have one knee on the ground.
"I'm sure we can bounce back after this defeat. We played some great rugby even if there were some negative points in the game. I'll keep the strength of our defence in my mind and the great character we showed at the end. We never gave up.
"The lads showed amazing fighting spirit. Even when the game became very difficult after the Leinster try, we kept going. We have showed that the team has a strong character and that's very positive.
"We definitely could have won the game. The most efficient team went through but I'm not sure that Leinster really played better than us on the day."
