The Australian watched on as the visitors scored with less than 30 seconds remaining to snatch a 36-32 win at the Madejski Stadium, but Smith was proud of his team.

He said: “I thought the performance was a very good one. There was plenty of commitment, lots of blood, sweat and tears left out on the park, which is good.

“The boys were very disappointed but I think the disappointment will fade away and they’ll have a lot more belief. I think we got momentum out of the game even though we didn’t get all the points we came for.

“Make no mistake we weren’t there to push them, we were there to win so in the changing room you could hear a pin drop.”

And Smith added that while the final moments were heartbreaking, the overall performance - and particularly that of his half backs and captain George Skivington - was outstanding.

He gushed: “(The end was) disappointing, but the last 25 seconds doens’t define our afternoon.

“I think that what happened for 79 and a half minutes showed we’re a very competitive, very committed group and so I’m immensely proud of the effort and we’ve got to find a way going forward to win the tight ones.

“The boys were putting the ball on a plate for Alex (Lewington) and from 9, 10 and 12, the short kicking game was exceptional and I’m glad Lewy got three tries today.

“It was a big effort for a six-day turnaround and the leadership from George Skivington, David Paice, Shane Geraghty was outstanding.

“The boys are standing up and they’re the backbone of our team and I think our supporters and everyone can be very proud of the efforts of the boys.”

The former England backs coach was also left mystified over the scrum penalty awarded to Saracens which led to their match-winning score.

He said: “The scrum penalties are a mess and a mystery right now.

“Everyone’s working hard to try and sort it out but it’s one man’s opinion and there were probably thousands of people that don’t share that opinion but that’s the game.”

London Irish will look to bounce back this coming Saturday as they travel to a wounded Leicester Tigers, who suffered a 45-0 humiliation at the hands of Bath last weekend.

But Smith was optimistic and is looking forward to the trip.

He revealed: “We’ve got to roll our sleeves up and get ready for Leicester at Welford Road.

“Our coaches have started having a good look at Leicester and we’ll have a good chat with the senior players and strategy group to try and plot our course.

“We’ve got a bit of a luxury this week in that it’s a seven day turnaround so we should be able to get a bit more work done on the training park.”

Flanker Ofisa Treviranus is an injury doubt for the Tigers match, having been forced off with a chest injury during the first half on Saturday.

Hat trick hero Lewington and Scott Steele will be returning to their former club and hope to continue the form they showed against Saracens.

And the wing - who can also operate at full back - said: “I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’m being give the chance to play and all I want to do is to be starting in the team.”