Northampton, a club whose profits are soaring, according to their chairman Keith Barwell's match-day programme notes, also have a crucial first victory in the bank. Many more games like this will send the their supporters' blood pressure to stratospheric heights too.
Ninety seconds were left on the stadium clock when Lee Dickson, with a last desperate dive pass, put the Saints back line into motion. Ben Foden, Paul Diggin and Bruce Reihana combined to send Diggin, on the right wing, over for the Saints' second try. The cheers could probably he heard in Leicester.
Northampton have the youngest captain in the Premiership in the 23-year-old hooker Dylan Hartley, a man destined to wear the England No2 shirt before long. Goodness knows what was going through his mind when, with half an hour gone, Northampton found themselves trailing 17-0. Saints have a pretty ordinary record against Worcester here in recent years but they have lost only once at home since March 2007 and the Warriors are not a team littered with stellar names.
The game appeared to be another home banker before kick-off, especially as Northampton, buoyed by that European Challenge Cup win last May that gave them a place in the Heineken Cup, have strengthened their squad with Phil Dowson, the Newcastle and England Saxons back-rower, and Shane Geraghty, the playmaker who left London Irish under a cloud last spring.Both were making Premiership debuts for their new club.
Geraghty made his mark, if perhaps not in the circumstances he would have liked. Stephen Myler, Northampton's fly-half and first-choice kicker, injured his right ankle eight minutes after the break. Myler limped on for three minutes but he could barely walk and Geraghty moved from inside-centre to No10. From there he helped transform the match; he also converted Diggin's try from wide out.
Myler's injury may only be a sprain but he must be a doubt for the game against Saracens at Wembley on Saturday. Geraghty will be an able substitute but Saints will miss Myler's kicking.
"Geraghty made a big impression today. He can fill in at either position and is a very composed player," said Northampton's director of rugby, Jim Mallinder. "We can also bring on James Downey to fill in at centre, as we did today, and he gives us an extra physical presence. It was good to start with a win but it was a pretty nervy performance and there are lots of areas to work on. But we are a team that likes to play good rugby, have threats from everywhere and take on teams out wide."
Mallinder said he hopes his new South African prop, Bryan Mujati, will be fit to play at Wembley, especially as he lost the tighthead Santiago Bonorino after half an hour. The Argentinian was expected to fill in for Euan Murray, whose dislocated ankle from the Lions tour is not expected to heal this side of Christmas.
Worcester lost their own new tighthead, Olivier Sourgens, after only 12 minutes of the match, with an injured right knee. But his disappearance failed to knock his team-mates off their stride. When Myler attempted a little chip into Worcester territory it was intercepted by the young centre Greg King, who combined with Alex Grove to outflank the Northampton defence and send the left wing, Miles Benjamin, haring down the touchline for the first try.
Northampton had most of the possession and territory but Worcester continued to look dangerous on the break. Willie Walker stretched the lead with a penalty and Worcester found themselves 17 points to the good. Worcester attempted a pushover try from a scrum. It was repelled but the Warriors pack moved remorselessly forwards and their No8, Kai Horstmann, peeled off the back of a scrum and plunged over for a second try, which, like Benjamin's effort, was converted by Walker, the New Zealander who was offloaded by Gloucester at the end of last season.
Staring defeat in the face, Northampton pressed and they found a shaft of light five minutes before the interval. The Saints laid siege to the Warriors line and Dowson battered his way over for a try that was confirmed by the video referee. His efforts set up a rousing second-half comeback. First blood, of the authentic kind, to the Saints.
Northampton Foden; Diggin, Clarke, Geraghty, Reihana; Myler (Downey, 52), Dickson; Tonga'uiha, Hartley (capt), Bonorino (Dreyer, 31), Lawes (Fermandez-Lobbe, 67), Kruger, Dowson, Best (Gray, 61), Wilson.
Tries Dowson, Diggin. Cons Myler, Geraghty. Pens Geraghty 2.
Worcester Latham; Garvey, Grove, King, Benjamin; Walker, Powell; Mullan (Black, 63), Lutui, Sourgens (Taumoepeau, 12), Rawlinson, Gillies (Kitchener, 60), Wood, Sanderson (capt), Horstmann.
Tries Benjamin, Horstmann. Cons Walker 2. Pen Walker.
Sin-bin Walker, 73.
Referee C White (Gloucestershire).
Attendance 12,073.
