Owen Farrell believes his Saracens teammates will enjoy every step of the build-up to their mouthwatering Gallagher Premiership final showdown with Sale Sharks at Twickenham on May 27.
The Hendon-based outfit reached a seventh final in 10 years after defeating Northampton Saints 38-15 in their play-off semi-final at StoneX Stadium last Saturday.
Captain and fly-half Farrell, 31, kicked 11 points as Sean Maitland (two), Ivan van Zyl and Bristol-bound Max Malins touched down and Sarries were also awarded a penalty try.
England flanker Ben Earl was the top tackler from the two semi-final games with 22, none missed, as well as three turnovers, with Hackney-born England international Courtney Lawes in the Saints line-up.
Meanwhile, Sale Sharks overcame defending champions Leicester Tigers 21-13 at their AJ Bell Stadium base in Salford, near Manchester.
England international George Ford also kicked 11 points to help Sharks to their first Twickenham appearance since thrashing Leicester 45-20 in the 2006 final for their only title success to date.
Saracens topped the table in the regular season with 74 points, five clear of Sale, having gone out of the European Champions Cup quarter-finals 24-10 to defending champions Stade Rochelle – who play Dublin-based Leinster at AVIVA Stadium in Saturday’s final.
Sarries were moments away from claiming last season’s Gallagher Premiership title, but a peach of a drop goal from Freddie Burns saw Leicester claim the top domestic prize for the record breaking 11th time.
Saracens will be gunning for title number six later this month and Farrell said: “I just felt we’ve been ready for a bigger jump this season. We’ve been ready for a bigger improvement and the key thing is (after La Rochelle defeat) taking it into the bigger games and I’m glad we’ve done that.
“I love being involved in these occasions and love being involved in the big games at the end of the season as we all do. We’re going to enjoy every bit of it now and not wanting to get it over with too quickly. We want to enjoy every step of it and that’s what we’ll try to do now leading into this final.”
Saracen’s director of rugby Mark McCall described his side’s defensive display as the strongest he has seen for years, with Wales international Nick Tompkins in agreement.
“The most satisfying thing for us was that defence,” the 28-year-old centre told Saracens' Twitter channel.
“Every single one of the boys, the shots some of them were putting in, the fire over the ball against a really dangerous side, especially off launch plays flying out from scrums, some of the stuff we did I thought was phenomenal.
“To turn it around and have what we’ve had to suffer last season was pretty devastating. We didn’t show who we were so this is another chance to put it right. It’s not redemption but it just feels like you’ve got another opportunity now and we’re so grateful for that.
“We’re going to enjoy the two weeks now and really take it in because that’s most the important thing.”
Tickets for the final are available online at premiershiprugby.com.
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