Northampton hauled themselves off the bottom of the table by producing one of the biggest Zurich Premiership upsets of the season against Leicester.

Nobody gave the Saints a prayer going into the game against the runaway Premiership leaders who had just run in 13 tries against Newcastle.

But they pounced on every Leicester mistake to score first-half tries from Shane Drahm and John Rudd with Drahm adding a conversion, two penalties and a drop-goal.

Leon Lloyd's try and two penalties from Sam Vesty got the Tigers back in the game by the interval - but they made too many errors to build up any momentum in a scrappy second half and were punished when Ben Cohen struck five minutes from time to make sure of victory.

Before the game even Saints chairman Keith Barwell admitted their best hope may rest with the ground inspectors preventing the likes of Bristol or Exeter from stepping up.

But after edging a point ahead of Leeds at the foot of the table, maybe they will not need any outside help in the run-in against Gloucester, Harlequins, Bath, Newcastle and Worcester.

With coach Budge Pountney exiled in the stand serving a touchline ban for calling referee Steve Lander 'a disgrace' a fortnight ago, Paul Grayson directed operations from the dugout.

And Northampton were without half a dozen key players because of injuries and international calls, while Leicester went into the game on a high after their 83-10 trouncing of Newcastle.

But there is nothing to get the pulses racing like the blood and thunder of an old-fashioned derby game and the Saints produced their most passionate opening spell for months.

They pounced on Leicester's errors and punished them with points in the first 20 minutes.

First number eight Henry Tuilagi lost control of the ball at the back of a defensive scrum, with Jonny Howard recovering to put Drahm over from close range in the third minute.

Northampton kept up the momentum while the leaders over-complicated and infringed before Neil Back was sin-binned in the 13th minute for wrapping up the ball at the bottom of a ruck.

Drahm punished that offence with a penalty, then drilled over a left-footed drop-goal before Vesty's 21st-minute penalty got the visitors on the board.

Then it was Bruce Reihana's turn to get into the act from full-back, surging down the blindside and putting wing Rudd in for the second Northampton try on the right in the 24th minute, with Drahm converting.

The bad blood between both packs boiled over after that with former England captain Martin Johnson and Saints prop Simon Emms both shown the yellow card for fighting off the ball.

Drahm's second penalty edged the hosts further ahead before Leicester finally got a foothold in the game by driving down the right.

Vesty slipped Lloyd through a midfield hole to the line, then added a penalty at the end of the half to ensure the Tigers only trailed by 10 points at the break.

Leicester duly reverted to a route one offensive after the break, playing for position and launching their familiar driving maul from lineouts.

But Tuilagi and Scott Bemand do not give Leicester the control of England pair Martin Corry and Harry Ellis at the base of the scrum and they were restricted to just one attempt on goal which Vesty missed from kickable range in the next 20 minutes.

Their afternoon was summed up when they won two penalties on halfway and Austin Healey failed to find touch with both kicks for the corner.

And when they were pinned in their own half and trying to create something out of nothing, Tuilagi lost the ball and Cohen found room to squeeze over in the right hand corner as Franklin's Gardens erupted.