Saracens made to work in Italy

Saracens, perhaps spooked by what happened the last time they were there, took a 35-12 win away from Viadana on Saturday but didn't pick up a bonus point.

Saracens, perhaps spooked by what happened the last time they were there, took a 35-12 win away from Viadana on Saturday but didn't pick up a bonus point.

Indeed, their only two tries came in the final ten minutes as the Italians' brave defence finally crumbled.

Hitherto, all the scoring had been penalties, with Saracens landing seven – six from Glen Jackson and one from Rod Penney – to four from Viadana's Charlie Hore.

Neil de Kock finally made the breakthrough on 70 minutes, and Kameli Ratouvu scored in the final move of the game, with Jackson converting one and Gordon Ross the other.

Elsewhere, Rovigo added Dax to the list of French teams beaten by Italian ones with a 24-11 win in the Stadio Matteo Battaglini on Saturday.

Not only did Rovigo win, they also ran in four tries for the bonus point, with Calanchini, Bell, Immelman and Mahoney dotting down.