Abu Dhabi Saracens skipper Jaen Botes has urged his team-mates not to dwell too much on defeat as the defence of their West Asia Cup crown got off to a nightmare start following a 13-12 loss to resurgent Bahrain.

Vito Tuivione scored a try right at the death to bring the hosts to within a point but a difficult touchline conversion was missed by Sarries’ Stephen Hamilton, resulting in just a second home defeat in 16 months.

Number 8 Botes refused to make excuses in defeat, the South African instead insisting Bahrain deserved their win and choosing to rally his troops. “They were the better team and there’s no point in us going and sulking about it. There’s no point in making excuses,” said the UAE international.

“Rugby’s a sport where it can go either way, right until the last second. We had similar circumstances when we beat Harlequins before Christmas and it went our way. That’s rugby.

“At the end of the day we have to take it in. We have to man up.”

There really is no time for languishing in the doldrums, as Sarries welcome Doha to Al Ghazal next week.

The mouthwatering clash will be a repeat of last year’s West Asia Cup final, which the Abu Dhabi club won 26-20 in thrilling fashion in Qatar.

“We have to stand up and have a good week next week, playing Doha at home, which is going to be a big game,” added Botes.

“We have to hold our heads up high and have a good training session next week and take it from there.
“A loss at home will bring us back down, true, but we have to take it week by week.

“We took a knock before Christmas (a loss to Dubai Exiles) then we had a couple of good games, so we have to stay positive. We have to take this on the chin.”

Bahrain team manager Ian Davies was delighted with his side’s performance, heaping praise on all 20 players, but he isn’t reading too much into their victory in the UAE capital, especially as they face another daunting task next weekend when they host Dubai Exiles.

“To come away to Saracens and get a result, any side would take that and we’re very, very happy,” he said.

“But, let’s not carried away. A win away is nothing if we can’t back it up with good home performances over the next few weeks.”