2014 European final defeat not haunting Saracens

England international Billy Vunipola has said that the scars caused by the 2014 European final defeat are "done and dusted" as Saracens target Champions Cup glory when they take on Racing 92 on Saturday.

The last time an English Premiership team won a Champions Cup was in 2007 when Wasps defeated Leicester Tigers in the final.

Saracens had an opportunity to break the tide in 2014 when they reached the final, but were handed a defeat by a dominant Toulon side.

The 2014-15 Premiership winners have been in top form and will be locking horns with Leicester in the Aviva Premiership play-off a week later.

Saracens are yet to lose a game in the current season of Champions Cup and if they manage to win the final on Saturday, they will be the first team in history to win all nine games in the tournament.

Crediting his team for the positive mindset, Vunipola reckons Saracens have been an improved side since the 2014 defeat in the final.

"I think we are really lucky to be in finals, and we all appreciate the stage that we are at now," number eight Vunipola said.

"I also think it has taken a lot of hard work to get here, and I think it is testament to all the hard work the boys have put in, the coaches and everyone else.

"We we are not really thinking about two years ago - that's done and dusted. We have learnt from that, I feel, and we look forward to the challenge that lies ahead on Saturday.

"I think we just feel more ready right now.

"We topped the seedings coming into the knockout stages, which we've never really done before, I don't think, and also we have just managed to carry on winning. I think it is credit to the boys for having that mind-set just to keep moving forward."

There has been a lot of spotlight on Racing 92 fly-half Dan Carter and the All Blacks star is positioned fourth in the list of the top point scorers in the tournament.

Even though Vunipola believes Carter is dangerous, the 23-year-old believes it is tough to focus on just one player when facing a team like Racing 92.

"He (Carter) is obviously a big cog in their framework, and for us its trying to nullify him, but also the other many threats that they have," Vunipola added.

"They've got Chris Masoe, they've got Juan Imhoff, they've got Joe Rokocoko and also I think a key player for them is Maxime Machenaud.

"He is a tough little player and he's already said that they are coming out for revenge (Racing lost 12-11 to Saracens in last season's Champions Cup quarter-finals), so just a word of warning for the boys to look out."