Saracens survived a major scare to beat Treviso 26-20 and seal a home quarter-final in the Heineken Cup.

The Premiership champions were poor in the first half and two Treviso tries left them trailing 17-13 despite an effort from Mouritz Botha.

But a David Strettle try at the start of the second half and Owen Farrell’s consistency with the boot enabled them to book their spot in the last eight of the competition.

The Men in Black made a number of changes from the win over Biarritz for their trip to Italy. Scrum-half Peter Stringer replaced Ben Spencer while James Short came into the backline for Chris Wyles. Matt Stevens also returned to the side in place of Rhys Gill. Jackson Wray earned a spot in the back row at the expense of Ernst Joubert.

The Italian side got off to a decent start in ideal playing conditions. Treviso had already beaten Biarritz and drawn with the Ospreys at home so there was no question they were a potential banana skin for Saracens.

Treviso conceded a penalty after ten minutes and Farrell booted over the first points of the game.

But the hosts hit back immediately as Robert Barbieri grounded the ball for the opening try. Kristopher Burton added the conversion to give Treviso an unexpected lead.

The Men in Black responded impressively and regained the lead when Stringer offloaded for Botha and the England forward easily scored their first try. Farrell’s conversion gave the visitors a three-point lead after an entertaining start to the match.

Saracens were cut open again midway through the half when a brilliant attacking move resulted in winger Tommaso Iannone crossing the line. Burton’s conversion took them four points clear of the Premiership champions.

Treviso extended their lead to seven points when the excellent Burton fired over a drop goal. Saracens were looking a bit shellshocked after this blistering start from the Italians.

Pressure from Saracens in the scrum resulted in another penalty and Farrell kicked them within four points of Treviso.

The Men in Black got off to the perfect start in the second half when Botha charged down a clearance and Strettle profited to score their second try. Farrell added the extras to give the pool leaders a three-point lead.

Treviso fought back impressively and deservedly levelled the score after a penalty from Burton in front of the posts. But the visitors won a penalty from the restart and Farrell made no mistake to restore their slender advantage.

The hosts nearly scored their third try after another superb break but Stringer pulled off a fine recovery tackle to deny them.

Treviso thought they had scored again when Tobias Botes went over but the try was ruled out for a push on a visiting player.

Sarries extended their lead to six points with a routine penalty in front of the posts by Farrell.

The hosts kept pressing but they were unable to find the finishing touch as Sarries held on to secure top spot in the pool.

Treviso: Nitoglia, Iannone, Benvenuti, Sgarbi, Williams, Burtan, Botes; Rizzo, Ghilraldini, Cittadini, Pavanello, Van Zyl, Vermaak, Zanni, Barbieri

Saracens: Goode, Strettle, Farrell, Barritt, Short (Wyles, 51), Hodgson, Stringer (Spencer, 73); Stevens, Smit (George, 60), Nieto (Gill, 45), Borthwick (Smith, 32), Botha, Brown (Melck, 32), Saull, Wray

Scoring: 0-3, 5-3, 7-3, 7-8, 7-10, 12-10, 14-10, 17-10, 17-13 HT 17-18, 17-20, 20-20, 20-23, 20-26