Spirited Saints are beaten as Saracens secure place in Twickenham showpiece

Phil Dowson's men reignited hope for their travelling support with two second-half tries, but Saracens, who were 21-3 up at half-time, refused to allow a comeback.

A penalty try and a yellow card for Tom James made sure of the win, but Saints battled until the end against the Gallagher Premiership table-toppers.

Saints had the right to feel aggrieved early on as Sean Maitland escaped a card after taking George Furbank out in the air, with the Saracens wing going on to score two tries.

Ivan van Zyl also went over before the break to give the hosts a big buffer, but Saints were determined not to go quietly and fine scores from Alex Mitchell and James Ramm gave them reason to believe.

That hope was extinguished when the penalty try was awarded for James coming in at the side, and Saracens stuck the knife in with a Max Malins score as they booked their place at Twickenham.

Saints had gone into the game hoping to cause the kind of upset they delivered when winning a play-off semi-final at Saracens 10 years ago.

And there was a huge call early on as Maitland took Furbank out in the air, with the Saracens winger seeming to make contact with the head of the Saints full-back.

But referee Karl Dickson missed the incident initially before awarding a penalty to Saints on review.

However, Maitland was fortunate to escape a yellow card and he was leading a rapid counter-attack soon after, with Furbank and Mitchell doing well to stop the surge.

Saints weren't off the hook for long though as Maitland again had an impact, this time finishing after Alex Goode's kick bounced perfectly into his path.

Owen Farrell converted and it was the start Saracens wanted.

Saints were competing well but they were struggling to find their way up the field.

Saracens were beginning to gain ground and after Saints repelled their attacking lineout well, Farrell found a way through, executing a tidy kick in behind for Maitland to score his second.

Farrell converted and it was 14-3 to the hosts after 21 minutes.

Saints were starting to find life really tough and after Alex Waller gave away a penalty, Ivan van Zyl took a quick tap before running in unopposed for the score.

Farrell converted and the mountain that needed to be scaled was already looking like a huge one.

Saints pushed and probed for an opening before the break but the well-drilled Saracens defence held firm as the home side preserved their 18-point lead.

Farrell extended it to 21 points with a penalty after Saints were penalised inside their own half, and there was so little ground made by the black, green and gold in any area of the field.

When Saints did get the chance to apply some pressure inside the home 22, Saracens were standing firm, forcing errors and preventing their opponents from building up any real momentum.

But Saints finally found a spark as Mitchell delivered a fantastic finish, bringing a huge roar from the away support.

Smith converted but Saracens were straight back at it, with Malins coming close to a try.

But Saints were starting to build some belief and they pieced together a patient score that resulted in Ramm diving over.

Smith sent the conversion wide to leave the gap at nine points with 14 minutes to play.

Saracens got back on track when they were awarded a penalty try, with James yellow carded for his part in it as he came in at the side to try to stop a maul that was moving over the line.

Saints had right to feel aggrieved as Farrell had been in touch close to halfway earlier on, but it wasn't spotted and Saracens could celebrate.

Maro Itoje was sin-binned before the end for a deliberate knock-on, but the home side avoided any damage as they enjoyed safe passage to the showpiece.

Saracens: Goode (Daly 66); Malins, Lozowski, Tompkins (Taylor 66), Maitland; Farrell (c), van Zyk; M Vunipola (Mawi 68), George (Dan 72), Riccioni (Judge 74); Itoje, Tizard; Isiekwe (Hunter-Hill 49), Earl, Wray.

Saints: Furbank; Ramm, Dingwall (Collins 68), Hutchinson, Freeman; F Smith, Mitchell (James 68); A Waller (E Waller 40), Cruse (Smith 50), Davison (Hill 50); Ribbans, Moon (Salakaia-Loto 57); Lawes (Scott-Young 72), Ludlam (c), Augustus (Graham 57).

Referee: Karl Dickson