Northampton, the side who ran out of puff and resources at the end of last season, losing a Heineken Cup final and league silverware on the way, came back from the brink of severe embarrassment, gifted a win by a bit of Gloucester hot-headedness two minutes from time.

After an opening weekend featuring upsets at Leicester and Twickenham, Northampton are the only team from last season's top‑four to remain unbeaten, but they came close to squandering a 10-point lead established early in the second half. In fact, had Gloucester's replacement fly-half, Freddie Burns, been more accurate with a penalty and conversion, the game might have been beyond Northampton before Will James flew into the side of a ruck under the Gloucester posts, arms whirling in a manner the referee, Andrew Small, could not fail to spot.

Up stepped Ryan Lamb, a Gloucester old boy who has joined Northampton via London Irish as one of the many new boys at Franklin's Gardens, to turn a one‑point defeat into a two-point victory while leaving one of his former coaches, Bryan Redpath, to ponder another wound inflicted after a summer in which talent like Nicky Robinson, Dave Attwood and Paul Doran-Jones has left Kingsholm as purse strings have tightened.

Last season Gloucester did the double over Northampton and even won the LV Cup on this ground, beating Newcastle to kick-start an end-of-season surge, but the accountants have not been kind and a little envy on Redpath's part would have been understandable even before the final blow on Sunday.

Jim Mallinder's answer to that drop-off in form in the spring was to dip into the Barwell family war chest and the club's healthy bank account – they have just declared an 11th successive year in profit – and to buy in two thirds of a team. Five new players – Tom May, Noah Cato, Martin Roberts, Doran-Jones and Samu Manoa – started yesterday with Lamb, Mike Haywood and James Craig on the bench.

At the other end of rugby's rich list, Redpath entrusted Gloucester's fortunes to a set of backs who have already hinted at an ability to excite and forward recruits who are still to prove their worth . To have lost four experienced props suggests testing times ahead and for 55 minutes on Sunday it seemed that Northampton were destined to win – only the margin seemed uncertain.

The Gloucester scrum was up against it from the start and even when Northampton were caught off balance they seemed to have the ability to hit back in some style. In the 21st minute, when Charlie Sharples, part of Martin Johnson's preliminary World Cup squad, hacked ahead only to see Greig Tonks scoop the ball up in one hand and set off through the disorganised red line ahead of him. Four phases later Stephen Myler drifted left, making the scoring pass to his captain, Phil Dowson, with a neat offload. It looked good and it suggested better was to come, even if Gloucester bounced back immediately,

Tonks the hero turned culprit for their 23rd‑minute try. The full-back's attempted clearance was charged down by Jonny May, who then toe-poked the ricochet over the Northampton line before pouncing on it. With Tim Taylor kicking the conversion and a penalty Gloucester slipped into a three‑point lead but then another of Northampton's new boys, Martin Roberts, suggested that Mallinder might have bought wisely.

The former Scarlet, who won three caps for Wales in the autumn of 2009, started the move, linking with Dowson and the rest of his back row before a cheeky dart from the base of the resultant scrum suggested the scrum-half had dotted the ball against the foot of the left post. Mr Small checked with his video official and four minutes before the interval Northampton had established a four‑point gap which they enhanced with a couple of Myler penalties early in the second half.

It was then that Northampton either took their foot off the gas or Mallinder spoiled the balance of his team by emptying the bench in a way he rarely did last season. He said later that he was looking for better than a seven-point margin, but neat handling by Lesley Vainikolo, making a rare appearance in Gloucester's centres, and Jonny May put Sharples in at the corner and Northampton's jitters took hold.

Northampton Tonks; Diggin, T May, Downey, Cato; Myler (Lamb, 62), Roberts; Doran-Jones (Waller, 53), Long, Mujati (Mercey, 60), Manoa (Craig, 73), Sorenson (Day, 53), Clark, Nutley, Dowson (capt).

Tries Dowson, Roberts Cons Myler 2 Pens Myler 3, Lamb.

Gloucester Morgan; Sharples, J May, Vainikolo (Voyce, 73), Simpson-Daniel; Taylor (Burns, 54), Lewis (Runciman, 56); Wood (Murphy, 42) Dawidiuk (Charles, 71), Chistolini (Harden, 49), James, Brown (Savage, 43), Buxton (capt), Hazell, Cox.

Try May, Sharples Con Taylor Pens Taylor 2, Burns Drop‑goal Burns.

Sin bin Buxton 49.

Referee A Small (London). Attendance 13,124.