Leinster Rugby captain Johnny Sexton is under no illusions of the magnitude of the task his side face as they prepare to take on Saracens in the Heineken Champions Cup final at St James’ Park in Newcastle this afternoon. Sexton will lead Leinster out in the European showpiece final against a Saracens side that have won all eight of their Heineken Champions Cup matches this season, including a 32-16 victory over Munster Rugby in the semi-finals in Coventry last month. Leo Cullen’s men could become the first team to lift a coveted fifth European Cup, but Sexton - who has already notched 48 points in the Heineken Champions Cup this season – admitted that the English side will provide a stern test. The 33-year-old said: “We’ve had two weeks to prepare and have a good look at them and analyse them. https://twitter.com/leinsterrugby/status/1126970167445975042 “They are everything we expect them to be and they have players back who were missing last year [in the quarter-final victory], so it is going to be a very tough challenge, but we are up for that challenge. “We take confidence from coming through a very tough pool. It really comes down to who plays best on the day and we have to bring our best and see where that takes us.”

You can watch the Heineken Champions Cup final between Leinster Rugby and Saracens this afternoon at 17:00 BST, with live free-to-air coverage on Channel 4 and Virgin Media. Live coverage will also be provided by BT Sport, FR2 and beIN SPORTS.