Full-time: Munster were hanging on at the end, but they probably just about deserved it, if only for their superior defending in the first-half. Saracens, for whom Chesney, Vyvyan, Hill and Ratuvou were all outstanding, did not turn their early dominance into enough points and were also hampered by having both props yellow carded within the space of three second-half minutes. Munster now progress to a Heineken Cup final date with Toulouse on May 24 in Cardiff. Thanks for your company today and enjoy the rest of the weekend...

80 - All over: O'Gara boots the penalty into touch to seal an 18-16 win for Munster.

78 - Last chance?: Leamy's ill-advised kick at Vyvyan gets the ball back for Saracens, but there is not much time left. Ratuvou makes another surging break down the left but Hurley makes a crucial tackle and Saracens commit a penalty at the breakdown.

75 - Counter-attack: Ratuvou's grubber down the left flank is collected by opposite number Howlett and Munster immediately run it out from close to their own line. Their adventure takes them to half-way and Saracens then kill the ball to concede a penalty. It's out of range for the three points so O'Gara boots deep into Saracens' territory for a lineout.

74 - Munster clear: Munster's scrum holds firm to allow Tipoki to clear to half-way. Saracens have a lineout.

72 - 15-a-side: Both teams are now back to full strength following the trio of yellow cards. Saracens back on the attack..

71 - Jackson penalty: Saracens soak up yet more pressure and then break out, earning a penalty on the left half of the pitch due to Munster's pack straying off-side. Jackson is on target to bring Saracens back within two points.

67 - Saracens hanging on: Munster's efforts to exploit their numerical advantage are thwarted for the moment. The touch judge spots an off-side to deny the Irish province a (uncontested) five-metre scrum. The next attack also has a pointless ending when Howlett spills the ball forward.

64 - Uncontested scrums: Scrums are uncontested at the moment as Saracens only have one prop (Visagie) available. Even he doesn't seem too keen to come onto the field.

62 - Johnston sin-binned: Saracens are now down to 13 men with their other prop Johnston shown a yellow card for cynically lying all over the ball to prevent Munster recycling a ruck quickly. 'I have to be consistent,' points out ref Nigel Owens as he dips into his pocket for the third time in five minutes. O'Gara lands the penalty to put Munster 18-13 in front.

59 - Lloyd sin-binned: Saracens are also down to 14 men with prop Lloyd off to the sin-bin for throwing several punches at Munster No.8 Leamy. It kicked off at the back of a maul after Leamy appeared to have a tug on Lloyd's scrum cap, prompting the prop to unleash three or four punches.

57 - Tipoki sin-binned: This could yet end in tears for Munster, who are reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes after Tipoki kills the ball in front of his own sticks following another rampaging run by Saracens centre Ratuvou. Jackson puts over the penalty to bring Saracens within two points.

56 - Ruck and roll: Chesney has monstered Munster at the breakdown, the main area where the English side have had plenty of joy. Saracens are enjoying a sustained spell of territory...

52 - Clearance: O'Gara produces a long skidding clearance to touch to relieve the pressure on his side following a sustained spell of possession by Saracens.

48 - Pitch battle: The pitch is cutting up quite badly - there was a football match on it yesterday - and Munster's forwards look in their element, keeping things tight to control possession. It's all very different to the flowing rugby of the first-half.

43 - Jackson penalty: Munster lock O'Callaghan is penalised at the breakdown, allowing Jackson to slot a simple penalty to reduce Saracens' deficit to five points. The rain is pouring down and the temperature has dropped appreciably at the Ricoh Arena...

41 - O'Gara error: O'Gara puts the restart out on the full resulting in a scrum for Saracens in midfield. The heavens have opened during the interval, so the second-half gets under way in heavy rain. Who will that suit?

Half-time: It's been a feast of expansive rugby thus far, both sides have had their moments with ball in hand but it has been Munster's superior defending that ensures they lead at the break. Hope it continues in the same vein after the break....

40 - Quinlan try: Alan Quinlan scores Munster's second try on the stroke of half-time, the flanker cruising over after picking up at the base of a ruck and stepping through some weak tackles. Searing runs from Dowling and Howlett set-up field position and left the defence out of position, allowing Quinlan to exploit the lack of numbers. O'Gara adds the extra two for a 15-7 half-time lead.

36 - De Kock up: Saracens scrum-half De Kock coughs up possession after being absolutely smashed by opposite number O'Leary. Howlett boots long to get Munster out of their own half.

34 - Munster stand firm: More impressive attacking from Saracens, who camp in the Munster 22 with the ball being moved through phase after phase (11 in total). It ends with Munster infringing at the ruck to give Saracens the put-in at a scrum in prime attacking position...

30 - Leaky defence: Saracens look good when they have the ball in hand, but their defence has left quite a bit to be desired, they seemed to almost usher O'Gara to the line. The furious pace of the play drops for the first time with a series of lineouts in midfield.

25 - O'Gara try: Munster lock O'Connell secures a lineout under pressure from Vyvyan and, after a quick recycle at the ruck, the ball is moved flat into midfield where O'Gara comes on at pace and has enough gas to get to the line for Munster's opening try. The fly-half blots his copybook somewhat by missing the fairly easy conversion, the video referee is required to confirm that he did indeed fail to put that one between the sticks.

24 - Against the head: Saracens clear their lines for the moment after winning a scrum against the head.

22 - End-to-end: Munster are soon back on the attack and should have been in for a try. Centre Mafi spurns an overlap on the left and instead takes the ball into contact. Munster have a five-metre scrum...

17 - Ambition: Saracens centre Sorrell sends a long pass out to the left flank, where Ratuvou's combination of fancy footwork and raw pace gains 30 metres, although his grubber kick is seen safely into touch by the covering Howlett.

13 - Open game: This has been a terrific opening 13 minutes with both sides throwing the ball wide at every opportunity, it's breathless end-to-end stuff.

8 - O'Gara penalty: Munster winger Dowling crosses in the left corner but it doesn't count as Tipoki's final pass was forward. There was an earlier infringement - Saracens No.8 Vyvyan off his feet at the ruck - so Munster settle for a penalty, which O'Gara slots from in front of the sticks.

4 - Ratuvou try: Ratuvou starts and finishes a phase of play that takes Saracens from one end of the field to the other for the opening try. Ratuvou began the move pinned in on the left corner close to his own line, a pacy counter-attack ensued, Powell was stopped just short but Ratuvou crashed over from the subsequent ruck. The conversion is added by Jackson for an early 7-0 lead.

2 - Chesney penalised: Saracens continue their promising opening by stealing the Munster lineout, but a good position is wasted when Chesney is penalised for having a dig at Munster lock O'Callaghan long after the ball had gone. It was spotted by an eagle-eyed touch judge and the penalty allows Munster to get out of their own half for the first time.

1 - We're off: Saracens make a strong start by recovering their own kick off and then moving the ball through several rucks to pin Munster deep into their own half...

Predictions: Feel free to send in your thoughts on how you see this one going by dropping me an e-mail on graham.mair@bskyb.com. I'll put my head on the block and predict a comfortable Munster victory, just think they have too much experience of this type of big European game for Saracens.

Teams:

Saracens: Haughton, Leonelli, Sorrell, Powell, Ratuvou, Jackson, de Kock, Lloyd, Cairns, Visagie, Vyvyan, Chesney, Gustard, Hill, Skirving

Replacements: Ongaro, Johnson, Ryder, Barrell, Rauluni, Ross, Scarbrough

Munster: D. Hurley, Howlett, Mafi, Tipoki, Dowling, O'Gara, O'Leary, Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Quinlan, Wallace, Leamy

Replacements: Sheahan, Pucciariello, O'Driscoll, D. Ryan, Stringer, Warwick, Murphy

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRFU)

Welcome to skysports.com's text commentary from the second Heineken Cup semi-final between Saracens and Munster at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. Kick off is at 3pm (BST), join us then.