Champions Cup final: How Racing 92 and Saracens reached the final

By Julian Crabtree

Image: Racing 92's Dan Carter could add the Champions Cup to his long list of trophies

The Grand Stade de Lyon is on course to sell out for the Champions Cup final between Saracens and Racing 92 on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 2.

One thing we can predict for certain is, come the final whistle, there will be a new name on the trophy, as neither side has yet tasted glory in European rugby's premier cup competition.

Live European Rugby Champions Cup Final

Racing 92 will make their first appearance in a final and are the ninth Top 14 club to play in a European Cup decider, while Saracens will be appearing in the final for a second time after losing 23-6 to Toulon in 2014.

Top of the Pools

Saracens swept aside all before them in a tricky Pool 1 that included Toulouse, Ulster and Oyonnax.

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The north London side kicked off their campaign with a 32-7 win over Toulouse.

We take a look Saracens' route to the 2016 European Rugby Champions Cup final

It was an impressive display from Saracens and they backed it up in Round 2 with a superb second-half performance away to Ulster.

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Sarries scored 22 points after the break in Belfast to come away 27-9 winners and underline their ambition to go one better than they did in 2014.

Image: Owen Farrell will be hoping to help Sarries to their first Champions Cup success

Rounds 3 and 4 provided back-to-back wins against Oyonnax - a 45-10 win at Stade Charles Mathon before a Chris Ashton hat-trick inspired them to a 55-13 victory at home the following week. The bonus-point win put comfortable distance between them and the chasing pack in Pool 1.

Mark McCall's men then secured their home quarter-final in Round 5 with another impressive win against Ulster, this time winning 33-17 to secure their fourth bonus-point victory of the pool stages.

In their final game of the group stages, Saracens kept their 100% record intact as they travelled to Stade Ernest Wallon and beat Toulouse 28-17.

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Meanwhile, over in Pool 3, Racing were drawn with Northampton, Glasgow and Scarlets. Their first match was scheduled to be against Glasgow, but was postponed following the terror attacks in Paris.

The Top 14 side got their Champions Cup campaign off to a winning start with a bonus-point 29-12 victory over the Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets.

Dan Carter then had his first taste of European rugby with the Paris-based side as he helped Racing to a 33-3 win over Northampton in Round 3, but a week later there was a blip as Saints held them to a 9-9 draw at Franklin's Gardens.

We take a look at Racing 92's route to the 2016 European Rugby Champions Cup final

In early January, Racing's postponed Round 1 game against Glasgow took place at Stade Yves Du Manoir. The French side tightened their grip on Pool 3 with a 34-10 bonus-point win, and a week later racked up the biggest win in the tournament when they demolished Scarlets 64-14 at home.

The final round was not a good one for Racing, as they were well beaten by Glasgow Warriors in Kilmarnock - 22-5 thanks to a try from Stuart Hogg. However, they had done enough to advance as Pool 3 winners and secure home advantage in the quarter-finals.

Knockout stages

Racing hosted three-time champions Toulon in the quarter-finals in battle that went to the wire. The scores were tied 16-16 before a 79th-minute penalty from French scrum-half Maxime Machenaud kicked Racing into their first semi-final, knocking out the reigning champions.

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In their semi-final against Leicester, it was Machenaud's try in the third minute that helped Racing to a 19-9 lead with the game closing out. Though Leicester hit back with a try with a minute remaining, Racing held on for a 19-16 win at City Ground.

Saracens came under intense pressure in their quarter-final and had to come from behind to beat Northampton after trailing 10-6 at half-time. Sarries were far from their best but stepped up in the second half to beat their Premiership rivals 29-20.

Image: Saracens beat Wasps 24-17 in their semi-final

It was another Premiership side in the semi-finals for Saracens as they won a thrilling encounter against Wasps. The power of their back row finally took its toll on Wasps, who made Sarries really fight for their place in the final in a 24-17 win.

The final

The two best teams in Europe will now meet. Will Saracens be able to keep their 100% win record and lift the trophy? No team has ever won the tournament after finishing the group stages as top seeds.

Can Racing 92 triumph, propelling Dan Carter into an exclusive club of players who have won the World Cup, the Rugby Championship, the Super Rugby title and the Champions Cup?

The five to do so are Bryan Habana, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Brad Thorn and Ali Williams.

Image: Juan Imhoff scored a try during Racing's quarter-final against Toulon

The Sky Sports team will be in Lyon to bring you all the action as it unfolds, with special guests Paul O'Connell and Jonny Wilkinson joining us to share their views.

Tune in from 3.45pm on Sky Sports 2 this Saturday to watch Saracens v Racing 92 in the Champions Cup final

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