Just for a moment it seemed that Gloucester were going to do an Arsenal and go from unbeaten to the pits in a week. In the end, however, they pulled a performance out of their forwards and ground the Saints down. No tries, no real thrills, but a win and the winning streak rediscovered.
Mark Connors, the Australian in the Northampton second row, said before the game that his early impressions of the Zurich Premiership were of a game in the grip of the forwards. Which displayed a nice sense of humour on the eve of his side's trip to Kingsholm and a forecast promising rain at kick-off. For the record, the waters - like referee Jonathan Kaplan, who will take control of England v New Zealand at Twickenham, but who was caught in traffic in Gloucestershire - arrived slightly late.
Before Connors had a chance to expand on his views for a more liberal game, he was involved in a gruelling slug-out up front. He didn't seem to mind it too much, after all. In fact, the Northampton pack in the first half stopped all but one or two of the Gloucester drives from the line-out.
And they just about held out at the scrummage, where Olivier Azam, recently left out of the French squad for the autumn internationals, seemed intent on making a point to Steve Thompson, who is very much part of England's plans.
Talking of head-to-heads, there was also Andy Gomarsall against Matt Dawson at scrum-half. Dawson was roundly booed wherever he roamed, but played neatly behind his forwards. Gomarsall had more rubbish on his plate in the opening period, but as his forwards began to gain the upper hand in the rain his service grew more ragged.
Just when it seemed that Dawson was going to win a unanimous points decision, Gomarsall floored everyone by landing a drop goal from wide out near halfway. It may have been launched down-wind but it was still a prodigious effort, especially since it also denied Northampton a bonus point.
Gloucester have a bit of a problem. They have James Simpson-Daniel and Marcel Garvey out wide but have Robert Todd and Terry Fanolua in the centre. Nothing really goes smoothly through the Gloucester midfield - although John Leslie did manage it once in the first half - and the wings spent most of the match showing off their sprinting prowess by darting into rucks set up by their centres.
They had to live on scraps. It could work to their advantage as there is no better sight than a wing making something out of nothing. Simpson-Daniel once hit top gear near the line, and Garvey once put three defenders on their heels with a single side-step. But the three-quarter package is not mutually complementary.
So, to win the game, Gloucester cut out the middle and wide men. Ludovic Mercier simply booted the leather off the ball and the forwards kept play in opposition territory. The wind and rain were on their side too.
On the Northampton side there was nobody really to take the strain off the retreating pack. Paul Grayson limped off at the end of the first half, but without the ball there was little he could have done to bring the best out of, say, Ben Cohen.
The wing had a sound game, although he did drop a sitter in front of the Shed, which for even the thickest of skins can be an uncomfortable moment.
Actually, Northampton did have one spark of hope. Garvey tried to work himself into the midfield, only to drop the ball. Off went the Saints with Simpson-Daniel in hot pursuit of James Brooks. And even speedier he looked without the ball, it must be said. It didn't count because the ref had called them back for a Northampton knock-on at the point of Garvey's drop.
A bit weird, but it would be wrong to criticise Mr Kaplan. He took the view that since it was wet and horrible, every body had to keep warm and the more he could leave them to run around, the warmer it would be. There are worse refereeing philosophies.
Nobody gladdened his heart by scoring a try and in the end Gloucester's full control denied us all a rousing conclusion. But it was OK, and when it comes to the final reckoning, four points for an OK day might do very nicely. It certainly beats doing an Arsenal. Mark Connors, of course, may disagree.
Gloucester: Delport; Garvey, Fanolua, Todd, Simpson-Daniel; Mercier, Gomarsall; Woodman, Azam (Fortey 70), Vickery (capt), Eustace (Pearce 83), Cornwell, Boer, Forrester, Paramore (Buxton 38).
Northampton: Beal; Sleightholme, Tucker, Leslie (capt), Cohen; Grayson (Brooks 37), Dawson; Smith, Thompson, Morris (Stewart 40; Budgen 76), Phillips (Soden 76), Connors, Blowers, Pountney, Seely (Hunter 57).
Referee: J Kaplan (South Africa).
