The received wisdom for Leinster’s loss was poles apart in the moments after Saturday’s final whistle and in the hours that followed when thousands of post-mortems had been undertaken in the pubs and eateries around Newcastle.

Peter Jackson picks his XV for the Heineken Champions Cup Team of the Tournament.

Nothing has typified the indomitable will of both Leinster and Ireland in recent years so much as their habit of sticking the knife into opponents in the moments and minutes approaching half-time.

It is a measure of the quality in play at tomorrow’s Heineken Champions Cup final that there is so much mutual respect between the two teams, respect borne out of the shared experience of a successful British & Irish Lions tour two summers ago.

Tadhg Beirne may be a new signing for Munster this season but he shared the pain of consecutive semi-final defeats in Coventry at the weekend.

Leinster refuse to be a team that limits their eggs to the one basket.

Edinburgh Airport, Saturday evening, March 30. As the Munster squad and supporters prepare to fly home after a tense quarter-final victory at Murrayfield, there are numerous emotions on display.

Ahead of Saturday's eagerly awaited Heineken Champions Cup semi-final clash between Munster and Saracens we look back at previous titanic clashes between these two old rivals.

As an ever-present for Munster in Europe, since the dark days of a losing pool campaign, Rory Scannell is perfectly placed to assess his province’s current ability to compete at the highest level.

Saracens have loomed large on Keith Earls’s horizon since he first broke into Munster’s professional ranks more than a decade ago.

Officials from England and France sold visions of a bright new order, when they took a wrecking ball to the Heineken Cup, writes Brendan O’Brien

So much for the Anglo-French carve-up. Four years on from the distasteful rupture that did for the Heineken Cup, and only two since the PRO12 failed to earn a single invitation for the quarter-finals, and here we are with three Celtic sides jostling with Racing 92 for a ticket to Bilbao in May.

Cian Healy has warned that the momentum built up by Leinster’s unbeaten run through the Champions Cup stages will count for nothing when they embrace the challenge of reigning champions Saracens in Dublin this Sunday.

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.

A good columnist never strays into the territories of speculation and conjecture. Nonetheless, when tomorrow’s Champions Cup semi-final is going to come down to a one-score game (and it probably will), it’s tough to avoid the Conor Murray conversation.

Munster’s squad needs stability and another two seasons under the watchful eye of the former Springbok, writes Donal Lenihan.

HOW coincidental my exasperation on these pages at the fading art of kicking should be followed last Saturday by the wayward clearance that may define this season’s Six Nations championship, writes Ronan O’Gara.

Chris Ashton believes Saracens are “in a good place” after positioning themselves for another full-blown assault on major European silverware.

The French will take Twickenham by storm next month for the first time since they subjected the All Blacks to the most riotous half-hour in World Cup history.

Johnny Sexton had suffered a few knockouts in his time but never one like this — sitting on a chair in a Paris suburb just off the peripherique.

Rugby fans "with an Irish accent" seeking club tickets to Munster’s crucial Champions Cup clash at Saracens next month "will be treated with suspicion", the Aviva Premiership club has declared.

Defeat at home to Clermont last weekend has prompted Anthony Foley to make four changes to his staring side, but his opposite number has also made four changes.

Munster captain Peter O’Mahony is backing provincial pack-mate Dave Foley to hit the ground running when the uncapped lock goes into Ireland training camp today ahead of the November Tests.

Munster 14 Saracens 3

Munster 14 Saracens 3

The praise, for once, is valid, as Simon Zebo anticipates the head-to-head contests between the wings of Munster and Saracens in their Champions Cup Pool 1 clash at Thomond Park tonight.

The last time Cardiff staged the final, there were 12 Irish on the pitch and another 30,000 or so packed into the Millennium Stadium to witness Leinster’s second European conquest.

They pride themselves up north in getting straight to the point and saying what they think, so let’s not beat about the bush — Jerome Garces got it right.

Rod Nawn rates the Ulster men in a Payne-less game.

Ulster hooker Rory Best is wary that emotion may take over during this evening’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens in front of a record 18,000 crowd at the newly-refurbished Ravenhill.

Ulster’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens on Saturday will be the biggest home match in the club’s history, according to Sarries’ Director of Rugby, Mark McCall.

Leicester 19 Ulster 22

Connacht 20 Zebre 3

When Jonny Wilkinson won the World Cup for England 10 years ago, Gareth Davies was trying to find his way out of the darker recesses of the Welsh League at Ystrad Mynach.

HEINEKEN CUP POOL THREE:

Connacht 17 Saracens 23

Saracens 40 Edinburgh 7

As Schalk Brits apologises for his barely audible voice, explaining that he has had the flu all week, it is impossible not to think one thing: maybe he isn’t Superman after all?

Saracens forward coach Paul Gustard believes his big-name players are ready to stand up and be counted as they look to end Munster’s Heineken Cup dream this weekend.