Luke Charteris crucial to Racing 92's fortune - Mike Phillips

Former Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips has hailed his teammate Luke Charteris, who he believes will be the key for Racing 92 when they taken on Saracens in the Champions Cup final on Saturday.

After topping the table for most tackles in the tournament and exceptional performances in lineouts, Chateris will be looking to extend his momentum against Saracens.

Even though the likes of Dan Carter, Joe Rokocoko and Juan Imhoff have contributed the most in this season, Phillips, who has played 16 games for the club in this season described Charteris as "one of the most valuable assets" in Racing 92.

"He has probably been one of our most valuable assets, for sure," Racing scrum-half and Charteris' former Wales team-mate Mike Phillips said.

"He's been outstanding all season, and he seems to get better every game. He really has been a massive part of the team.

"When he has not played, we've really missed him a lot.

"He deserves a lot more praise than I think he gets, really, and he has got an opportunity on the weekend to showcase his skills at the top level.

"It (second-row) is a strength of their team as well - those two guys (Itoje and Kruis) have been on fire for England - so that's going to be a good battle."

With four wins from six games, Racing 92 emerged as the top team in pool three, but their major victories in the tournament came against Toulon and Leicester Tigers.

Saracens have been in top form defeating Northampton and Wasps on their way to the final and Phillips believes the encounter against the Premiership side will be a good test for Racing 92.

"They've had a great season so far," he added. "We played them last year (in the quarter-finals), so we know a little bit about them and we've done our homework on them.

"They have got strength throughout the team and players who have featured with England a lot this season. They are a team full of confidence.

"Our game has developed this season. We are quite a young team, and things have progressed really well, with some big names coming in as well, adding their talent and experience."

Another major boost for the Parisian club has been the addition of fly-half Carter in 2015. In this season, Carter is ranked fourth among the top point scorers with 56 points.

Acknowledging it is great to have Carter on his side, Phillips said they need to be at their best in-order to clinch the title against Saracens on Saturday.

"It's been great to have him (Carter) here," Phillips said.

"Everyone knows his talent - he shows it every time he plays. He is a very down to earth guy who gets on with his work, and he has blended in really well and brought a lot to the team.

"We have a massive game ahead of us. Everyone wants to win silverware, and we have just got to concentrate on ourselves and bring our best game with us on Saturday.

"We know that Saracens have a superb defence - they have great line-speed and come off the line really well and make their one-on-one tackles, dominate the collisions - and they have a really good kicking game as well.

"We have just to be really accurate. It is about taking your opportunities and being efficient. It didn't quite happen for us last year, but hopefully, we have learnt from that."