Saracens are out of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup despite winning their Parker Pen quarter-final second leg at Vicarage Road with six penalties from Fijian fly-half Nicky Little.

It was not enough and the 16-point deficit from the first leg, won 26-10 by Montferrand in France, proved too big an obstacle to overturn.

Montferrand full-back Jerome Gendre provided Saracens with a glimpse of hope, missing three easy first-half penalties - two of them in the opening five minutes.

That enabled Little to take Saracens within 10 points on aggregate as he landed two first-half penalties, the second following a yellow card for Montferrand lock Ed Pearce, who blatantly dived in at a ruck.

Just before Pearce returned Saracens were temporarily reduced to 14 men when second row Craig Yandell was sin-binned following a skirmish with Montferrand centre Raphael Chanal.

While he was off the pitch Gendre finally hit the target with a drop goal.

Montferrand effectively put the match beyond Saracens with the only try of the game when French international flanker Olivier Magne made the decisive break to send winger Aurelien Rougerie over in the right-hand corner.

Gendre failed again with the conversion attempt from the touchline but the damage had been done even though Little edged Saracens back in front on the day with his third penalty in first-half injury time.

Saracens, desperate to try and open the game up, became scrappy in the second half and paid for their handling mistakes.

Gendre finally landed his first place kick from five attempts with a 53rd minute penalty.

Little responded with two more midway through the second half, the second of which resulted in a yellow card for Montferrand prop forward Levan Tsabadze, for pinching the ball from Saracens' skipper Simon Raiwalui.

Sarries launched a late surge to try and capitalise on their one-man advantage but all they had to show for it was a sixth penalty as Little maintained his 100% record with the boot.

But Gendre responded with his second penalty and Saracens fell 12 points short on aggregate.

There was good news for England coach Sir Clive Woodward with key flanker Richard Hill lasting the course, and turning in a typically hardworking display, in his first match since badly breaking his nose while captaining his country against the New Zealand Barbarians at Twickenham before Christmas.

England scrum-half Kyran Bracken was led off after suffering a cut right eye in the 35th minute but returned at the start of the second half before being replaced by Morgan Williams 15 minutes later.