The first-half honours on that front were taken comprehensively by left wing Armand Battle with tries in the 10th and 30th minutes, with fellow wing Adrian Plante also cashing in with the ball in hand.

Former Munster centre and 2008 Heineken Cup winner Lifeimi Mafi got Perpignan's fifth try as Rovigo's early resistance cracked under the pressure.

Full back Stefan Basson had kept them ticking over with four first-half penalty goals and at 27-12 at the break they had shown up well.

But Mafi got his second and Perpignan's sixth with less than an hour gone and Perpignan's power then earned them a penalty try. It all added up to something akin to kicking practice for outside-half David Mele as he slotted nine conversions along with a couple of penalty goals.

Perpignan wrapped matters up with further braces from Joffrey Michel and Sebastien Vahaamahina as Rovigo crumbled.