Saracens boss Alan Gaffney insisted his stumbling side will not give up on their fading Premiership play-off chances after they lost 27-24 to London Irish at Reading's Madejski Stadium this afternoon.

Tries from Sailosi Tagicakibau and replacement Gonzalo Tiesi in a devasting five minute second half spell did the damage, yet Sarries could have snatched a draw had 14-point Glen Jackson nailed a last gasp penalty with the countdown clock expired.

Sarries led 12-13 at the break thanks to Jackson's boot and Ben Skirving's second try in three outings.

Replacement Kameli Ratuvou's score dragged the score to 27-24 after Irish had turned on the style before Jackson, so often his side's saviour, fluffed his lines from 40 metres much to the home crowd's jubiliation and relief.

Despite the defeat - Sarries' third league reversal on the spin - Gaffney focussed on the positives.

"We've come forward from where we were last week," said the director of rugby. "We were a lot better in certain areas and I can't fault the effort of the players.

"The morale was good and we fought right until the end today. We played with a lot more ambition than in the past few weeks but we've just got to get better.

"We were not as smart as we should have been. There were time were there was a lot of space in behind Irish but we didn't take advantage.

"I'm not satisfied but we have made a giant stride to get back to how we have been playing."

And what did the Aussie make of his side's fading title aspirations?

"You can never say it's over. Where there is hope, there is life. However, it's becoming increasingly difficult."

Sarries' pre-match plans were hit by the withdrawal of lock Chris Jack and replacement scrum-half Alan Dickens.

Former All Black Jack is suffering from a virus which has also affected his wife and young child, while Gaffney revealed several members of the squad including Glen Jackson and Neil de Kock also fell victim to the 24-hour bug before coming through it in time.

The injury crisis shows no signs of easing either after emergency outside centre Francisco Leonelli (calf) and flanker David Seymour (calf) picked up knocks during the game.

However, Gaffney did welcome one key player back from injury, full-back Dan Scarbrough.

"We know Dan is a good player and he did some very good things today," added the Sarries boss. "I'm happy with what he did and he will get better as time goes along."

Irish full-back Peter Hewat's boot gave Irish a 12-6 lead before Sarries burst into life minutes before the interval.

Witht the yellow carded Kris Chesney back on the pitch, Sarries probed with intent with Rodd Penney, Adam Powell and Scarbrough involved in the flowing cross-field move.

Richard Haughton shipped the ball inside for Skirving and the number eight galloped through a gap in defence to crash over on the right of the posts. Jackson converted for 12-13.

After missing his first shot at goal in the second half Jackson made no mistake at the second time of asking, despite cat calls from the crowd.

The Irish response was impressive. Wing Topsy Ojo sliced through the midfield before flighting out a wide pass to Tagicakibau who left Leonelli for dust to go over in the left corner. Hewat's crashed his conversion against the left upright.

However, Hewat was involved in the move which put in Argentine Tiesi minutes later.

After Powell's poorly anticipated grubber kick was gathered with ease, Irish shifted the ball upfield with pace before Hewat's deft inside pass allowed Tiesi a clear run to the whitewash.

Jackson and Hewat traded penalties before Ratuvou darted over on the left after taking substitute Brent Russell's pass in his stride. Jackson missed the conversion before suffering more agony when his last gasp kick sailed short and wide.

Saracens: Scarbrough, Haughton, Leonelli, Powell, Penney, Jackson, de Kock (cpt); Lloyd, Ongaro, Visagie, Chesney, Vyvyan, Gustard, Seymour, Skirving.

Replacements: Johnston for Visagie (blood), 24; Visagie for Johnston, 34; Ratuvou for Haughton, 54; Johnston for Visagie, 55; Russell for Leonelli, Kyriacou for Ongaro, 59; Ryder for Seymour, 74.

Referee: Dave Pearson.

Attendance: 8,298.

Scoring sequence: 0-3/3-3/6-3/9-3/9-6/12-6/12-11/12-13 HT/12-16/17-16/22-16/24-16/24-19/27-19/27-24.