Saracens forwards coach Alex Sanderson has revealed that there is no love lost between his side and Sunday's semi-final opponents Northampton Saints.
The two teams have been building up a heated rivalry for the past number of years that stemmed from the Barnet outfit angering Saints, who felt that they had deliberately left their changing room door open so Northampton could hear their victory celebrations.
The two clubs meet at Allianz Park on Sunday in the semi-finals of the Aviva Premiership, and Sanderson feels that the game could be a feisty encounter.
"You do feel the extra niggle," Sanderson told Sky Sports News. "It's got better because there used to be a bit of banter at half-time and arguments and shouting at each other between the coaches as well as the players.
"We were underdogs for a few years and it's a massive motivational factor in terms of your players. They don't like us anyway we know that and we've scorned them this season already so they'll be desperate to put one over on us.
"Certainly on the field there's no love lost there - I know what their players have said to our players in England camps - it's along the lines that they feel we're extra privileged, and we have everything we want and we're fed off silver spoons. That's not the case - we work unbelievably hard for every one of our performances but there's still a perception out there and that's a motivating factor for them."
The winner of that clash will face either Leicester Tigers or Harlequins in the final at Twickenham.
Matt Cotton
