Harlequins centre Lennox Anyanwu believes new faces brought a buzz to the squad ahead of the 28-21 loss against Saracens in the Premiership Rugby Cup. 

The StoneX Stadium was the venue for the London derby, with several players making their debuts for both clubs. 

Matas Jurevicius, Archie White and Nick David crossed the whitewash for Quins, but it wasn't enough to stop Sarries, who got on the scoresheet through Richard Barrington, Dominic Morris and a double from Theo McFarland. 

The win leaves Quins in third place in Pool 3 of the Premiership Rugby Cup after London Irish beat Northampton Saints in the group's other game, with Sarries in second. 

"There were a lot of new faces and new people starting and people who haven't necessarily played for the first team," said Anyanwu, who came through the Harlequins academy. 

"It was five debuts, I think, and the buzz was quite good it was just that everyone needed to be confident, be dominant, talk and enjoy ourselves. 

"This is a London derby, so whenever Saracens come to The Stoop, we want to win and play our best rugby. 

"We put in a good performance, but unfortunately, we couldn't get the try at the end to pull the game back to a draw." 

Barrington showed immense strength and power to open the scoring for Sarries after Duncan Taylor and McFarland carried the ball up to the try line, following a slow start to the game for both sides. 

Morris scored their second from a superb set-piece move at a line-out that put Rotimi Segun in space before the winger offloaded to the centre, who crossed the whitewash after a brilliant display of pace. 

Jurevicius struck back from a driving maul for Quins to reduce the deficit to seven points heading into the break. 

But it was Sarries who recorded the crucial score straight after half-time, with McFarland getting his first of the afternoon by finishing off a series of pick and goes. 

White finished in the corner soon after when a Quins line-out on the 22 led to him receiving the ball in space out wide. 

With the score at 21-14, the game could have gone either way, but Taylor's grubber saw Sarries enter the opposition 22, and then they waited patiently before releasing McFarland, who crossed in the corner for his second try. 

David made Sarries sweat with a stunning try in the game's final 10 minutes, but it wasn't enough to inspire Quins to a draw as the Men in Black held on. 

Anyanwu added: "I think our rugby from minute one to minute 80 is about belief, so we always think we can score. 

"From anywhere on the pitch, from our 22, from our try line, from the halfway, I think there were a few times where we showed glimpses where we nearly scored there. 

"Everyone from one to 23, coaches on the bench, everyone believes in everyone on the pitch and what we can do with the ball in hand, so we always believe."