Mark McCall hailed the patience shown by Saracens as they overcame Munster’s formidable defence to seal their place in the Heineken Champions Cup final with a 32-16 triumph.

The reigning Gallagher Premiership champions ensured they returned to European rugby’s showpiece event for a third time in four seasons thanks to 22 points from Owen Farrell.

Tries from Michael Rhodes and Billy Vunipola capped off a fine performance from the Men in Black in Coventry as Darren Sweetnam grabbed a consolation score for the Irish province.

And having been billed as a battle between the best attack and best defence in the competition, McCall said he was proud of his players’ determination in the face of Munster’s rearguard effort.

Director of rugby McCall said: “It feels good because we played really well. We knew it was the kind of game where you had to be persistent and we were.

“It's easy to get frustrated when the scoreboard doesn't reflect how you're playing but the players could feel it building and we started the second half strongly.

“Most of the reason we couldn't score a try is because of how brilliant Munster are defensively – we attacked as well we have for a while, we just couldn't get over the line.”

Saracens had to wait until the 42nd minute before Rhodes crossed for their first try, having taken a 12-9 lead into the break following four successful penalties from Farrell.

The England fly-half continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over after the restart, before man of the match Vunipola made sure of the result with a second try on 71 minutes.

Vunipola was booed for most of the game following his controversial defence of Israel Folau’s social media post in which the Australian international said “hell awaits” gay people.

And the 26-year-old England forward, who was also confronted by a Munster fan on the pitch after the game, was not surprised by the response he received at the Ricoh Arena.

“People say I put my foot in it so I have to deal with it,” Vunipola said. “It's not something I'm afraid of. I probably have to expect that it's going to keep happening.

“It was probably insensitive, but also something I strongly believe in. I'll probably not be as honest as I have been about things that probably hurt a lot of people. I know that now.

“I'm not going to change the happy-go-lucky person I am. My faith is what got me to this position. It's something I'll stick by.

“It's been awesome having friends supporting me, whether they agree with me or not.”