Billy Vunipola admitted it was “quite scary” to be confronted on the pitch by a fan after his try sent Saracens back to the Champions Cup final.
The England star had been jeered throughout a fierce contest in the wake of his support of homophobic comments made by fallen Aussie star Israel Folau.
Although he responded with a man of the match performance, culminating in the decisive try seven minutes from time, an irate supporter had the final word.
As Vunipola began a lap of honour with team mates in front of the 16,235 crowd the fan, wearing a Munster shirt, invaded the pitch unopposed and gesticulated angrily at the number eight.
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"People say I put my foot in it so I have to deal with it," Vunipola told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I probably have to expect that it's going to keep happening.
"It was quite a motivating factor that people were booing me. I wanted to back up my words and show my team-mates that I did not mean to distract them.”
The incident was all the more alarming coming a month after a yob ran onto the pitch at St Andrew’s and punched Aston Villa ace Jack Grealish during the Birmingham derby.
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A spokesman for the tournament organisers said: “EPCR does not condone the entry of a spectator to the field of play.
“Following the regrettable incident, the spectator in question is currently being detained by the stadium authorities.”
It was a sour end to a joyful day for the north Londoners who reached European rugby’s showpiece for the third time in four years and will play either Leinster or Toulouse at Newcastle’s St James’ Park on May 11.
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Owen Farrell kicked 22 points in a masterful response to those who had caned him for his part in England’s Six Nations collapse against Scotland.
And there was a try for flanker Michael Rhodes as the two-time champs produced a devastating third quarter to turn a narrow 12-9 lead into a commanding 25-9 scoreline.
But inevitably it was Vunipola, on his 100th appearance for the club, who was focus of attention with at least three fans turning up with Gay Pride rainbow flags.
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“Behind closed doors I felt a lot of love, a lot of kindness shown to me,” said the number eight, who had caused widespread anger by a tweet which included the words: ‘Man was made for woman to procreate that was the goal no?’
“From my point of view I believe what I believe in, there was no intention to hurt anyone, that was never my intention and I am just glad to play.
"It's been awesome having friends supporting me, whether they agree with me or not. I'm not going to change the happy-go-lucky person I am. But I'll probably not be as honest as I have been about things that probably hurt a lot of people. I know that now.”
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Vunipola responded to the scrutiny by leading Saracens’ assault on the gain line with 22 carries in a power-packed display.
“Billy was outstanding and so were all his team mates,” said team boss Mark McCall. “The intensity we brought, how switched on we were. We got all the big parts right.
“You could see the group was tight today. you could see how together we were. It was a great group performance. Billy was part of that.”
For Munster there was only frustration in front of a travelling army of fans which far outnumbered the English contingent.
The great Irish province were making their third consecutive semi-final appearance and a record 14th in all. Yet they have now lost their last seven.
“We came here to win and got beaten by a better side on the day,” conceded coach Johann van Graan. “Far play to Saracens, they have blown everybody out of this competition so far.”
SARACENS - Tries: Rhodes, B Vunipola. Cons: Farrell 2. Pens: Farrell 6.
MUNSTER - Try: Sweetnam. Con: Hanrahan. Pens: Bleyendaal 2, Murray.
