The Blues battled heroically in the heat to beat Viadana and qualify for another season of Heineken Rugby at the Arms Park in 2005-06.

As director of rugby David Young admitted afterwards, the right result was everything and it guaranteed the region a place at the top table of European rugby. He said,

“It was a difficult match because we were rusty and they [Viadana] posed us a lot of problems in the first half. After the interval we took our chances well and obviously it is a great relief to come away with a result.”

Eighteen points from the boot of Nick Macleod and tries by Dean Dewdney, Nick Robinson, Craig Morgan and man-of-the-match Robin Sowden-Taylor secured the 38-9 win that provided a satisfactory conclusion to an otherwise disappointing season. By the end, the Italian Job had transformed itself into The Great Escape.