Northampton Saints 36 Harlequins 33: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

George Furbank offloaded to Alex Coles in front of the Harlequins posts and the Gardens held its breath.

Coles appeared as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and the fate of Saints' season resting in his hands as he juggled the ball.

Eventually, he pouched it brilliantly under pressure and dived over the line to deliver the bonus-point score for Saints.

With Furbank easily converting, it gave the home side some vital breathing space in a game, and a campaign, in which that is in short supply.

Quins responded with a try of their own, but Ollie Sleightholme's second score of the match eventually proved decisive.

Saints survived a couple of unneccessary late jitters to get over the line in a fixture that felt oh so important.

Because although some could say there is still plenty of rugby to play this season, there isn't actually as much as it may seem.

And with Saints facing a tough trip to Saracens next Saturday, they so badly needed to get a win against Harlequins on Friday night.

Had they lost, the gap between them and their opponents would have widened.

And with just two more games - both away - before they reach the halfway point of the Premiership adventure - Saints knew they couldn't afford to drop too far behind one of their top-four rivals.

As it was, the tries from Coles and Sleightholme helped them secure a maximum haul that moved them level with Harlequins in the standings.

And how welcome that was on a night when the black, green and gold again showed such character.

Such character because they lost Curtis Langdon, Fin Smith and Rory Hutchinson to injury after the defeat at Leicester Tigers six days earlier.

Such character because they bounced back from that loss at their local rivals.

Such character because they came up against a Quins side stacked with star quality.

Such character because they lost Lewis Ludlam and James Ramm to injury in the space of a couple of minutes late in the first half.

And such character because Quins would never go away, right up until the final whistle.

There are, of course, areas in which Saints know they need to improve.

But let's remember just how many men they are missing.

And let's focus on the tune they are getting out of their squad as a whole.

George Hendy has stepped in this season and shone.

George Furbank switched to 10 against Quins and won man of the match.

Ollie Sleightholme came in for his first start, having initially been pencilled in to play for Bedford Blues this weekend, and went on to score two tries.

The list of players who are stepping up at key times goes on.