Stuart Lancaster needs no introduction to the dangers Leinster will be facing when they go toe-to-toe with Saracens in Saturday’s heavyweight Heineken Champions Cup final.

Stuart Lancaster has no doubt but that Leinster will shed their recent inconsistencies and producing a monster performance against Saracens in a heavyweight European decider this Saturday.

Three Leinster players are in the running for the European player of the year award.

Worcester centre Ben Te'o has been ruled out of England's three-Test South Africa tour.

Jamie Heaslip’s recent retirement has left a vacancy for the title of rugby’s ‘Mr Indestructible’ and one look through the Saracens duty roster for the season to date makes a persuasive case for Alex Goode as the heir apparent.

Few games present themselves on a canvas decorated with such broad and simplistic brush strokes as Sunday’s meeting between Leinster and Saracens.

Saracens full-back Alex Goode says the club’s Champions Cup quarter-final with Leinster will be bigger than a Test match for him.

Saracens kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions Cup knock-out phase after demolishing Northampton.

The lack of an Irish presence may have dampened our enthusiasm in the buildup to the Champions Cup final but, in the end, worthy finalists Saracens and Clermont Auvergne produced a captivating spectacle.

Saracens’ trophy hunters may not have achieved greatness yet, but Billy Vunipola believes they are striving to bring Barcelona-esque levels of domination to European rugby.

Here’s the lowdown on four big games across Europe...

Clermont beat Bordeaux in a cracker in Ulster's pool.

England head coach Stuart Lancaster is convinced Sam Burgess will remain a rugby union player, despite speculation he will return to league rugby after the World Cup. Odds have been shortened on Burgess ending his cross-code adventure after only a year and one bookmaker has stopped taking bets, amid reports he is set to join Leeds Rhinos.

Racing Metro 92 11 Saracens 12: Marcelo Bosch basked in the gratitude of his team-mates after kicking Saracens into the semi-finals of the Champions Cup in dramatic scenes in north Paris.

Saracens travel to Racing Metro for their Champions Cup quarter-final tie tomorrow (Stade Yves-Du-Manoir, 12.45pm) full of confidence on the back of five straight wins.

England have recalled lock Courtney Lawes and full-back Mike Brown for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland.

Courtney Lawes will make his England return in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland emboldened by a glowing reference from forwards coach Graham Rowntree.

There have been greater glory days for Westmeath GAA, that’s for sure. The Leinster SFC title on July 24, 2004, for one, would be hard beaten but last Sunday has secured itself a place in the annals.

Robbie Henshaw saw that it was on. When Craig Joubert raised his arm to signify a potential penalty for Ireland just outside England’s 22, Henshaw’s mind backtracked to the countless hours spent in Carton House preparing for just such a situation with his scrum-half.

Ireland 19 England 9

The three factors that swung the game Ireland’s way against England at the Aviva Stadium.

Stuart Lancaster insists England’s Cardiff heroics provide the blueprint for their assault on Ireland in Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations title showdown at the Aviva Stadium.

Stuart Lancaster insists England’s Cardiff heroics provide the blueprint for their assault on Ireland in Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations title showdown at the Aviva Stadium.

England won’t lack for confidence when they arrive in the Aviva Stadium tomorrow, says Donal Lenihan.

England have made the first changes of their 2015 RBS 6 Nations campaign after naming Alex Goode and Jack Nowell in their starting XV to face Ireland on Sunday.

‘Experience of playing away in a cauldron like the Aviva is going to be big for us’

Andy Farrell remembers Croke Park all too well, writes Julian Bennetts.

England full-back Mike Brown has been ruled out of Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations match against Ireland after suffering a setback in his recovery from concussion, the Rugby Football Union has announced.

Stuart Lancaster’s week started with some bad news.

England’s full-back Mike Brown is almost certain to miss Sunday’s pivotal Six Nations clash in Dublin as he has still not recovered from a head injury suffered against Italy.

Mike Brown is still suffering concussion symptoms and faces a race against time to prove his fitness for England’s pivotal RBS 6 Nations clash against Ireland in Dublin.

Mike Brown is still suffering concussion symptoms and faces a race against time to prove his fitness for the pivotal RBS 6 Nations clash between Ireland and England in Dublin.

RBS Six Nations: England 47 Italy 17: England full-back Mike Brown receives medical attention for a head injury.

Racing far from a cert in Europe’s knockout stages

Saracens took a giant stride towards the European Champions Cup quarter-finals by flooring Irish heavyweights Munster at Allianz Park.

In a tense, edgy week for the Munster squad, Paul O’Connell found one aspect of relief ahead of tomorrow’s Champions Cup showdown with Saracens — it wouldn’t be him having to deal too often with the unpredictable bounce of the Londoners’ artificial surface, writes Simon Lewis.

The Irish company behind the pitch where Munster’s European dream could come to an end has told the province they have nothing to fear — from the artificial surface at least — when they travel to Saracens tomorrow.

Alex Goode has told Munster that Saracens are ready to ‘fight fire with fire’ and that the English side will come out on top if the province attempt to dominate them physically in tomorrow’s huge European Rugby Champions Cup game in London.

Thomond Park hasn’t exactly rocked of late, a point not lost on Edinburgh or Ospreys who seized their moment to bag rare wins in their respective Guinness Pro12 outings in Limerick last month.

Munster 14 Saracens 3