Northampton Saints captain Dylan Hartley has warned his teammates not to let their hard work this season go to waste against Saracens in the Aviva Premiership semi-final on Sunday.

Saints have failed to advance from the last-four stage for the past three consecutive seasons and meet a Sarries outfit who are unbeaten at their new home Allianz Park.

However, skipper Hartley has demanded that his side do not let all their efforts this year count for nothing.

"If we don't win this weekend, it's all over and we've got another season where we've ground it out, we've made top four," Hartley told the Northampton Chronicle.

"Especially this season. Other years we've had a good run, but this time we've had to really work for it and it would be a shame to see all that hard work go down the drain again.

"I suppose we're under the radar. No-one's really counted us as champs, but we believe we can do it and we're two games away from it."

The winners of the clash will face either Leicester Tigers or Harlequins in the Twickenham final.