Wasps 17 Northampton Saints 22: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

Lewis Ludlam won the penalty that secured the four points for Saints (pictures: Peter Short)

Because rather than coming out after half-time and killing the game - perhaps even bagging the bonus-point try along the way - the away side seemingly did everything they could to squander their 22-0 advantage.

Error after error, penalty after penalty, Wasps were allowed to creep back into the game.

And with 10 minutes to go, it looked likely to be one that got away for Saints, who had Piers Francis in the sin bin for 10 of the final 12 minutes while boasting a slender five-point lead.

Tommy Freeman was in the thick of the action

But Saints rolled their sleeves up in the closing stages and, led by an indefatigable Paul Hill at scrum time, they turned the tide and survived to secure a sweet success.

And how great it feels for them to be able to take the negatives from a win rather than the positives from a defeat, which was so often the situation during a barren 2020.

Saints may not have shown much composure during the second half in Coventry, but they displayed character by the bucketload late on.

It would have been easy to buckle against a Wasps side with their tails up.

But they didn’t.

Saints showed they have finally rid themselves of the monkey that so often got into their minds and stole wins away last year.

They are now able to come out on the right side of games in which they don’t play at anywhere near their best.

And they are now able to reflect on a run of three successive wins.

Piers Francis carried the fight before being hit by a second-half sin-binning

As Boyd was quick to point out, it’s not exactly a mega-streak of successes.

But it’s certainly a start.

And Saints have got that wining mentality back, something that took them into the top four for a brief time on Saturday.

In fact, had they won that game at Bristol earlier in the season like they should have, they would now only be two points off the top of the Premiership.

Ahsee Tuala's late clearance after the clock had gone red almost proved costly but Saints survived

It is a fine turnaround and one that Saints will be desperate to continue.

They will have to perform much better than they did during the second half on Saturday.

But the showed during the first period that they can be ruthless in the red zones, something that completely deserted them during their long losing run last year.

There are positives and there are negatives from the Ricoh Arena showing, but the only thing that mattered was the win.

And Saints got it.

How they rated...

TOMMY FREEMAN

Looks like a serious prospect and his improvement seems to be so rapid, improving vastly with every experience. He was hugely impressive here... 8

OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME

What a return for the wing, who showed just what a talent he is once again, despite having not played a first-team game for more than a year... 8

PIERS FRANCIS

Found himself in the sin bin during the second half, but had contributed a fair amount before then and could be pleased with the end result... 6.5

RORY HUTCHINSON

Wasn't able to pull the strings as effectively as at Gloucester on the previous weekend, but his vision and awareness always keeps the opposition on their toes... 7

TAQELE NAIYARAVORO

Scored his second try in as many matches, having previously gone more than a year without a score, but blotted his copybook with a needless yellow card... 6.5

JAMES GRAYSON

With Dan Biggar away, this man will be hoping for a run in the team and he didn't do his chances much harm with a decent enough display here... 7

ALEX MITCHELL

Another sparky showing from the scrum-half who is definitely the current first-choice at No.9 for his club... 7.5

ALEX WALLER

Seemed to relish the scrum battle with former team-mate Kieran Brookes and also relished getting his hands on the ball in open play... 7

SAM MATAVESI

Is starting to look like a real find for Saints as he continues to impress, scoring one and setting one up here in a menacing performance... 8

PAUL HILL - CHRON STAR MAN

What a shift from the prop, who went off only to come back on almost immediately, proceeding to help Saints secure crucial scrum penalties that won them the game... 8

DAVID RIBBANS

This man just keeps ploughing on, making carry after carry and using his physicality to influence matches... 7.5

ALEX MOON

Wasn't able to play too much of a part in the match as he was forced off after just less than 20 minutes, but Saints were on top at the time

NICK ISIEKWE

Such a key component of the side now, as he continually mops up after mistakes and gets his hands on the ball at crucial times, even enjoying one rapid run down the wing... 7.5

LEWIS LUDLAM

A hugely influential display from the flanker, who seemed to be involved in so much, winning penalties, one of which sealed the victory for Saints... 8

SHAUN ADENDORFF

Notched his third try in two matches and carried with plenty of desire again as he showed his quality... 7

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

ALEX COLES (for Moon 20)

A good chance for the young lock to impress again and he didn't do too much wrong overall, making a huge amount of tackles... 7

MIKE HAYWOOD (for Matavesi 58)

One attempt at a late offload didn't work out so well for Saints, but largely this was an okay cameo appearance from the hooker... 6

OWEN FRANKS (for Hill 58)

Didn't have any time to make his mark on the game as he had to be replaced after taking a knock to the head

TOM WOOD (for 58)

Made his return from suspension and would have been delighted to be coming back into a winning team after all the tough times for Saints last year... 6