England fly-half Zoe Harrison nailed a late long-range penalty as Saracens snatched a 36-33 win over Bristol Bears at StoneX Stadium.
The victors raced into a 26-12 lead at half-time through tries by Millie Whizz, New Zealand’s Ruahei Demant and England prop Sarah Bern, who crossed twice.
Despite two scores by hooker May Campbell and one by Olivia Apps to retake the lead, Bristol then levelled the game after Keira Bevan converted her own try.
However, Harrison confidently smashed over a 79th-minute penalty to show why she was England’s World Cup-winning starting fly-half.
The victory meant Saracens kept up the pressure on Premiership Rugby Women’s league leaders Gloucester-Hartpury, while Bristol remain second from bottom.
Exeter Chiefs defeated Loughborough Lightning 26-5 at Sandy Park in Sunday’s other PWR fixture.
Francesca Granzotto, Amy Rule and Hope Rogers all scored first-half tries for the Chiefs, with Ireland’s Dorothy Wall grabbing the vital bonus-point try in the final play.
The result moved Exeter into third place above Harlequins, who lost to Gloucester-Hartpury on Saturday.