The English side made history in front of a capacity crowd thanks to tries from wing Sean Maitland and No.8 Billy Vunipola as well as 10 points from the boot of fly-half Owen Farrell in what was a classic Heineken Champions Cup final encounter between two European heavyweights.

Leinster edged the ferocious opening salvo courtesy of the unwavering boot of fly-half Johnny Sexton, who settled any nerves with his first three–pointer and Saracens were reduced to 14 men as Maro Itoje was sent to the sin bin by referee Jerome Garces.

Despite holding off a potent Leinster scrum, the numerical advantage eventually paid off for the men in blue as prop Furlong burrowed over the whitewash to claim the opening try.

Saracens refused to relent though and after Farrell kicked a penalty to make the score 10-3, the English side bagged their first try to go in level at the interval.

It was wing Maitland who raced over following a series of phases on the Leinster try line, leaving Farrell to level the scores at 10-10 with a well-calculated conversion from the left flank.

Farrell would then ensure their ascendancy was reflected on the scoreboard on the hour, bisecting the uprights with a straightforward penalty before a rampaging Vunipola forced his way onto the scoreboard by using the full stretch of his arms to dot down and Farrell’s second conversion opened a 10-point margin that would prove decisive.

After lifting the Champions Cup, captain Brad Barritt said: “I can’t speak highly enough of the leaders around me but more importantly the way the team really responded to a couple of key messages.

“A message is only as good as the guys that follow it and we did that. One thing is for sure – we are going to really enjoy tonight.”

Second half try-scorer Billy Vunipola also highlighted the previous season’s defeat to Leinster as added motivation in the final.

“It took us losing to them in the quarter-finals last year to motivate us,” Vunipola said. “I’m hoping it won’t take that for it to happen again but we are human beings.

“Of course, we want to win it again but these moments don’t come around very often and when it didn’t happen last year, we were very upset.”

On This Day in 2019, Saracens became the first English club to win the Heineken Champions Cup on three occasions after a 20-10 victory over Leinster Rugby at St. James Park in Newcastl.