Saracens head coach Mark McCall revealed that his side had “fallen in love” with the Heineken Champions Cup after a “painful” quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual winners Leinster Rugby last season. The two-time winners entered the 2017-18 competition as defending champions, but they were beaten 30-19 by Leinster after only finishing second in Pool 2 behind ASM Clermont Auvergne, meaning they had to travel to Dublin for their last-eight match. Ahead of their last-four clash with Munster Rugby in Coventry on Saturday, McCall highlighted his team’s hunger to clinch a third European title after their 2018 heartache. "We know that Munster, Leinster and Ulster all have great affinity with this competition, and over the last six or seven years our squad have also fallen in love with the competition," said McCall. "It was tough, losing in the quarter-final last year. We deserved to be beaten. Leinster were outstanding. [jwplayer ECwMJfbo] "But I think it made our group, after winning the two finals the two years before that, really hungry to do well this season. It was a painful experience the way we lost in the Aviva. That said, I think this group have grown to love this competition. “We want to go all the way if we can and I know for our group this is the pinnacle. They want to win the competition, but it’s all about winning the semi-final and getting to Newcastle.” McCall revealed that the Saracens coaching staff have been looking at Munster’s recent European victories, rather than his side’s 26-10 victory over the Irish province at the same stage in 2017. "I always think it's dangerous to look back too far, to be honest,” he explained. “I would be much more concerned with looking at their recent performances - just how tough they are to break down, how tough they are to play against. It's difficult to get quick ball against them. https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/1118107268782927874 "Their defence is the area that I see as the thing that they have most improved. It's difficult to win set-piece ball against them and I think they have added some strings to their bow in attack. "So, [they are] just a really good all-round team and they did a very good job at home to Exeter, who are flying in our competition over here. "There is no obvious weakness. They do the fundamental things brilliantly, so we know we are in for a really tough challenge on Saturday."

You can watch Saracens v Munster Rugby on Saturday from the Ricoh Arena on BT Sport and beIN SPORTS from 15:00 BST.