Rotherham's hopes of Zurich Premiership survival were dealt a blow as they went down to fellow strugglers Saracens in a dour tussle at Millmoor.

Inspirational skipper Taine Randell scored the only try of the match on the hour to knock the stuffing out of the South Yorkshire side and leave them 12 points adrift at the foot of the table and still seeking their first win.

The match had been dubbed a relegation scrap and it showed on the pitch as both teams struggled for continuity in their play.

Defences dominated for the most part, but Saracens fly-half Andy Goode was the key man for the visitors by laying the foundations for victory with 100% kicking record of 20 points from six penalties and a conversion.

Rotherham, giving full debuts to New Zealand prop John Rawson, scrum-half Matt Rhodes and new Argentinian full-back Bernardo Stortoni, had the bulk of possession in a poor first half but were thwarted by unforced errors.

They nudged ahead with two penalties from fly-half Phil Jones before opposite number Goode made the most of the hosts' mistakes to kick the visitors into a 9-6 lead.

Saracens were handicapped just before half time when lock Kris Chesney was sin-binned for persistent foul play.

Goode and Jones traded penalties at the start of the second half as Rotherham struggled to make the man advantage tell.

Then a huge 45-metre penalty from Jones tied the scores at 12-12 and set up a grandstand finish.

Jones's effort was cancelled out by another Goode strike before Saracens struck the decisive blow in the 58th minute.

Goode made a superb 40-metre break in midfield and captain Randell was up in support to grab the decisive try, converted by Goode to open up daylight at 22-12.

Rotherham knew it was not going to be their day when a Jones goal attempt struck an upright moments later.

Goode was again on target with the boot to open up a 13-point lead and the odds looked stacked against the home side with just 14 minutes left on the clock.

Try-scoring chances continued to be at a premium late on as Saracens closed out a win that goes a long to insuring their Premiership safety.

Rotherham did not even have the consolation of a bonus point and remain pointless after eight games.