Saracens back row Jack Nay believes his side can take positives from their last-gasp defeat at home to Harlequins in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The hosts led until the dying moments at a packed Allianz Park as Josh Ibuanokpe went over in the 30th phase to seal a dramatic comeback triumph for Quins.

But Nay, who dotted down in the 36th minute when he broke through the Quins back line, remained upbeat despite the late defeat.

He said: “At times I thought we were really clinical and stuck to our game plan and we kicked to the right areas, we kept the ball but it’s a shame that we had to lose it at the end but there are plenty of positives we can take out of this.

“I think the lads did really well. I thought the lads stuck in there really well in a tough game. End of the game and you’re defending like that on your own line is really tough but we tried out hardest.

“It was brilliant and I really enjoyed it. I managed to get a score which was really good too.”

Tries from Nay, Nathan Earle and Tom Whiteley had put Saracens in a commanding 26-5 lead with 24 minutes to play.

But tries from Alofa Alofa, Elia Elia and penalities from James Lang set up a grandstand finish before Ibuanokpe bundled over in the 82nd minute to cap up a dramatic comeback.

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Ali Crossdale believes Sarries showed a lot of character but ultimately could not get over the line with the victory.

Saracens now travel to Sale for their second Anglo-Welsh Cup match and Crossdale cannot wait to right the wrong of last weekend.

He said: “We showed a lot of character to stick in there and we defended really well at times but it’s hard to lose right on the final whistle.

"We tried our best and we have lots to work on for next week but we will go up to Sale and try and fix the things that went wrong.

“It was an awesome crowd and an awesome atmosphere so it’s great to get out at Allianz Park.

"Even with the circumstances – it would’ve been ideal if we had won but I really enjoyed it.

“Hopefully we can put things right and have a good win next week.”