Saracens winger Rotimi Segun believes a lack of first-team experience compared to opponents Northampton Saints contributed to their Premiership Rugby Cup Final loss on Sunday.

The Londoners came up short as they were beaten 23-9 by Northampton at Frankin’s Gardens and were unable to score a try, with all their points coming from the boot of Max Malins.

Tries from Teimana Harrison, Tom Wood and Ahsee Tuala were enough to give Saints the win but Segun was encouraged by the fight his team showed in defeat.

“We kept going for the whole 80 minutes but it was a tough game and it is tough place to come to at Franklin’s Gardens because there were 15,000 people here to support their guys,” said the Loughborough chemistry student.

“The boys stuck in really well but it was a tough one, really. We fell off a couple of tackles and they got some momentum, and it is really hard to stop a team when they have momentum.

“We stuck at it but it was hard luck.

“Some of places we have gone to, like Harlequins and Worcester, were very tough games so the fact that we got to the final; huge credit it the boys but it is tough to lose in the final.

“Credit to the Northampton guys, too, but they have a lot of first-team experience and some of us haven’t played for a month.

“It was encouraging to see and hopefully, we can get on it next year.”