Courtney Lawes revealed Northampton were inspired by an emotional team talk from the returning Calum Clark as they snatched a 20-19 Aviva Premiership victory against Exeter.
Clark made his first appearance for Northampton after almost a year on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
Back with a full-on beard Clark, who injured his shoulder in a friendly ahead of last season and then needed surgery on it, spoke to the team before the game about what it means to play for the club again after so long out and gave another pep talk at the break.
Lawes, picked by the watching Eddie Jones for England's elite player squad this week, said: "It was great for him, he really inspired us before the game and at half-time. He has an incredible engine and he showed it out there.
"He led the team talk at the start and he had a bit to say at half-time, talking about how much it means to him to play for Northampton again- he is an inspiring guy."
Northampton needed a penalty from 20-year-old Harry Mallinder with two minutes to go to snatch victory after a torrid start that saw them go 13-0 down inside 15 minutes.
But George North scored a try and then set up a brilliant 80-metre try from the restart for debutant Rory Hutchinson, a late replacement for Stephen Myler, who was forced out with a shoulder problem.
Gareth Steenson kicked Exeter back in front with two penalties, but Exeter cracked under sustained pressure for Mallinder to be the hero with his second penalty of the night.
Lawes said: "Harry is growing as a player, he is learning from every mistake he makes - unfortunately when you are young you do make a lot of mistakes. He is growing as a character in the team and he is a brilliant player, he did fantastic today with unbelievable composure to get the win at the death.
"We were desperate for that win and I think it really showed out there - we came back twice. We really back ourselves, we know we have been playing in patches and if we can string it together for the full 80 minutes there are not many teams who can live with us. We are just looking to stop these lapses of concentration."
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter felt the TMO should have looked at Hutchinson's wonder try because of a block, but admitted his team made crucial errors.
"We never really grabbed control in that final quarter,"said Baxter. "There was an opportunity to squeeze the game out, but crucially we needed to hold up a bit better in the lineout, that is where we lost possession and it started to get a little bit messy.
"We looked a little bit too edgy in that final quarter, we didn't really look like the team going out to win the game and we were on the back foot for too long.
"There was a pretty clear block that opened up some space in their second try, but that is a bit churlish, we missed a couple tackles and sometimes when you get bumped it is because you are not focused."
Source: PA
