SAINTS defied two late sin-binnings to start their season with a superb 24-19 victory against Gloucester at Kingsholm.
Gerrit-Jan van Velze and Paul Doran-Jones both saw yellow late on as the away side looked set to crumble, but they held firm to open the new campaign with a win.
Two tries from last season’s player of the year George Pisi and one from skipper Dylan Hartley did the job as Ryan Lamb added nine points with the boot.
Gloucester had looked primed to steal victory late on when they were awarded a penalty try and Freddie Burns, who kicked 14 points, converted to bring them back to within five points.
But they couldn’t put the passes together to get over the line and as the Gloucester fans grumbled, the Saints fans were left singing loud and proud.
It was a great start to their Saints careers for three of the new signings as Ken Pisi, Dom Waldouck and van Velze were given the chance to impress from the first whistle.
Ken Pisi got a warm welcome to Premiership rugby early on as he was smashed into the boards at the side of the pitch.
The Samoan will need some time to acclimatise to the English game, but Saints took little time to adjust to their Kingsholm surrounds as they put the pressure on from the outset.
They squeezed a penalty out of their hosts at a scrum and then turned up the power as they almost rumbled over with a driving maul.
Lamb tried a chip through as the ball was fed to the backs but no one could get on the end of it and referee Dave Pearson pulled it back for a penalty.
Saints again cranked up the heat but Gloucester held firm to win a penalty of their own and clear their lines.
But the home side couldn’t hold out for long and on 19 minutes Saints had their score.
There was good play from forward Brian Mujati in the build-up, but not in a physical sense as the prop flung a pass out wide and after one more shift George Pisi showed quick feet to step inside and score.
Lamb landed the conversion from a similar position to where he missed a couple in the corresponding fixture last year and Saints led 7-0.
The away side were dominating and another super slick move eventually resulted in a try for Hartley in the same corner.
That made it three tries in two games for the captain after he scored a brace in the final pre-season friendly at Edinburgh eight days earlier.
Lamb was again on the money with the conversion and Saints found themselves 14-0 up with 23 minutes gone.
But Gloucester, with the fervent support of the home fans behind them, weren’t going to lie down and after Saints infringed 30 metres out, Burns landed a penalty.
The men in green, black and gold were straight back on the attack, but they wasted good field position, giving away a penalty inside the Gloucester 22.
Mujati was then forced off with an injury, bringing Gloucester old boy Doran-Jones into the action but soon after Burns slotted another penalty to narrow the gap to eight.
Lamb had the final say before the break, though, as Gloucester again failed to hold on to the ball from a kick-off and Saints earned a penalty, which their fly-half converted with ease.
Discipline would have been the buzzword in the away dressing room at half-time but they immediately gave away a penalty at the start of the second half.
Burns again bisected the posts and the Gloucester had the catalyst for a stirring comeback.
The fly-half was at it again moments later as Saints handed him another penalty, which he again kicked with ease.
Saints had the wake-up call they needed and George Pisi started and finished a superb move, which saw the away side work the ball quickly for the Samoan star to score again.
Lamb nailed the conversion out wide once again and the Cherry and Whites were spurred into a trio of changes to try to mix things up with Sione Kalamafoni among those coming on.
But still Saints came and Samu Manoa, who was in monstrous form, won a penalty which Lamb fluffed for the first time in the game.
Stephen Myler was introduced in a bid to steady the ship but the Cherry and Whites were starting to gain territory and Saints were starting to wobble.
Van Velze cracked under the pressure and he was sent to the sin bin, leaving Saints a man light for 10 of the final 13 minutes.
And that became two men light as Doran-Jones joined van Velze in the bin, with the away scrum crumbling.
The inevitable eventually happened as Pearson awarded a penalty try and Burns brought the Cherry and Whites back to within five points with the conversion.
Van Velze returned but it looked inconceivable that Saints would hold out for a win. However, that was what they did as they started the new season in fine style.
Saints: Foden, K Pisi, G Pisi, Waldouck (Burrell 74), Artemyev, Lamb (Myler 62), Dickson; Tonga’uiha, Hartley, Mujati (Doran-Jones 34), Manoa, Day (Sorenson 60), Dowson, Wood (Mujati 71, Waller 73), van Velze.
Replacements: Haywood, Oakley, Roberts.
Gloucester: May; Sharples, Tindall (Trinder 60), Twelvetrees, Simpson-Daniel; Burns, Robson (Lewis 51); Wood (Murphy 60), Dawidiuk (Edmonds 51), Harden (Knight 42); Savage, Brown (James 60); Cox (Kalamafoni 51), Qera, Morgan
Replacements: Thomas