Saracens face Munster in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup on Saturday.
Mark McCall’s side are the form team this year and look destined to reach a third final in four seasons.
Here, we take a look at the key talking points ahead of the match.
Saracens Europe’s best?
The North London side will contest their seventh semi-final this weekend and, coupled with Leinster’s mixed form, are well on course to replicate their victories in 2016 and 2017.
Led by Owen Farrell, Sarries have the ultimate competitor who is always hungry for success. Like him or loathe him, the England captain is a magical player who is often the tipping point between winning and losing.
His kicking from hand is exceptional and can expose the opposition’s positioning with his clever kicks, vision and solid distribution.
But even without the presence of their inspirational star, there is class all around the park in Billy Vunipola, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Jamie George and Brad Barritt.
Barritt, in particular, looks to have rediscovered his old form this season and is more than capable of steering the ship if Farrell is injured or off-colour.
With the Premiership also in their sights, it looks set to be another thrilling end to the season for McCall and his impressive side.
All eyes on Vunipola
The English star was booed during last week’s defeat to Bristol after showing support for Israel Folau, who was sacked by Rugby Australia for his controversial posts on social media.
For any player, it’s not nice entering a marquee fixture under a cloud of smoke due to the negative impact it could have on their individual performance.
McCall had to field questions all week about Vunipola’s actions and it’s an unwanted distraction leading into a European semi-final. In the build-up to such a crucial clash, you want to be talking rugby and the occasion itself rather than the negative outside music.
Vunipola won’t be thanked by his team-mates or management, but these players are professionals and should be used to playing in high-intensity games without letting distractions affect them.
Vunipola’s beliefs and what it has attracted is unlikely to have an affect on the result itself, but it’s an unwanted interruption.
Munster’s best approach?
The more you look at Saracens, the less weaknesses you find. They are the form team in Europe and will be hard to stop. For Munster, they need to build on comfortable recent wins against Edinburgh, Cardiff and Benetton if they want to reach a first final since 2008
Johann van Graan’s side have improved hugely since their 26-10 defeat to Saracens in the semi-finals two years ago, a fixture in which they fell apart late on after enjoying the bulk of possession and territory in the first-half.
This time around, Munster need to get the blend right with their creativity and ask more questions of a stellar Saracens side.
With an experienced half-back partnership in Murray and Tyler Bleyendaal, the Red Army need to execute the kicking game to put their opponents on the back foot and spread the ball wide to gain valuable yards.
Sometimes it feels like a minor miracle when talisman Keith Earls gets the ball out wide, but Munster need to ship possession to their back three at every opportunity in a bid to test Sarries in the wide channels.
In the scrum there is buckets of quality with prop David Kilcoyne having the season of his career. And if they can perform well in the line-out, contest the breakdown and slow the ball down, they should be in with a chance.
It may be a step too far, but Munster are developing well and in a real sweet spot to push them to the brink.
Chance for Bleyendaal to shine?
With Joey Carbery sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Bleyendaal has a chance to make his mark in Munster’s biggest fixture of the season.
Bleyendaal’s injury profile at Munster has been well documented, with two neck surgeries ruling him out for nearly two seasons and curtailing a career that looked certain to scale greater heights. Since joining from Saracens in 2015, he has only made 52 appearances for the province.
But, looking back to sparkling form after a superb cameo against Edinburgh last month, the 28-year-old Kiwi will take centre stage against the purring Farrell in Coventry.
It’s hard to quantify the overall impact of Bleyendaal, such is his stop-start tenure in Limerick so far, but his kicking game is strong and he plays almost like a ninth forward with his granite-like defence, solid passing and general game management.
If the former Crusaders man can get on top and provide his backs with the right ball then Saracens will struggle.
