Vyvyan puts the boot into Biarritz

Saracens 22 Biarritz 10

The Saracens pack, having been tested early, assumed control as the game wore on and the 11,167 inside Vicarage Road knew it was to be their day when captain Hugh Vyvyan, a loose-forward, landed a 40-metre drop goal.

Not since 2000, when Saracens beat the mighty Toulouse home and away, have the supporters' fez been raised to acclaim such a European performance.

Saracens began brightly and led through Glen Jackson's fourth-minute penalty when Biarritz put the squeeze on.

Three times they rumbled towards the Saracens line but the defence held firm, twice heaving the French pack into touch, and when Biarritz executed an impressive drive from the lineout, Kyran Bracken got himself under the ball and denied blind-side flanker Thierry Dusautoir the score.

Their chance eventually came when Jackson created the space with a superb offload and Johnstone burst onto the ball and under the posts and secured Saracens a 10-0 half-time lead.

Then Vyvyan, playing at blindside flanker, took the ball in midfield and launched a long-range drop goal that sailed between the posts and brought Vicarage Road to its feet.

Yachvili finally got Biarritz on the board with a 57th-minute penalty after Saracens had been caught offside.

Jackson then slotted his second penalty to put Saracens 16-3 ahead.

Biarritz eventually worked a breakthrough, with fly-half Julien Peyrelongue scoring in the last minute of injury time, but Jackson provided the coup de grace with another giant drop-goal.