JOHN STEELE is heading off on an expedition to Everest’s base camp in May, and at this rate his Northampton Saints will have climbed a mountain of their own out of a Premiership relegation dogfight.

The outgoing Heineken Cupwinning coach and now operations director may well end his 18th and final year at Franklin’s Gardens heartened that his beloved Saints will not be heading down to National Division One after all.

Steele’s adventure — in support of a cross-sport Show Racism The Red Card campaign — is a lifetime away for the current coach Budge Pountney, but he left Kingsholm with a smile on his face after securing four priceless points that takes them up a place to tenth.

First Leicester and now Gloucester have fallen to the east Midlands scrappers in recent weeks, and not only did they dog out a win but they played some rugby into the bargain to belie their lowly status.

Expected to be sunk by Nigel Meville’s team, who were still licking their Bath-inflicted Powergen Cup wounds, they defied the odds to leave the pressure on Harlequins and Leeds, playing Newcastle Falcons and Wasps respectively today.

Northampton were without Ben Cohen, the wing injured in the Tsunami Relief match, and a broken cheekbone will keep him out for three weeks. Wylie Human was drafted in to replace him.

Gloucester were also forced into a change, with one workhorse in Jake Boer replacing another in Andy Hazell — on England duty at Twickenham.

They were forced into another early switch when Adam Eustace was stretchered off with his head in a neck-brace in the sixth minute after collapsing following a lineout. Injuries are excusable, poor defending is not, and Gloucester paid the price for it in the 14th minute when centres James Simpson-Daniel and Terry Fanolua allowed Neil Starling to ghost between them for the softest of scores. It got worse for Gloucester five minutes later when Simpson-Daniel, Henry Paul and Nick Wood between them failed to bring down Marc Stcherbina as he took Shane Drahm’s crash-ball in front of the posts.

Paul finally put Gloucester on the scoresheet with a penalty for offside and when Northampton infringed in similar fashion and place minutes later, he added three more points.

The Kingsholm roar finally kicked into life when Simpson-Daniel tap-danced his way upfield, but it fizzled when he spurned a three-man overlap outside him and was swallowed up as he cut inside.

With Gloucester trailing 14-6, Melville sent on Olivier Azam to stoke some fire into his subdued team, and the feisty French hooker had something of a galvanising effect.

From a lineout, the Gloucester maul plodded its way to the Northampton line and Fanolua flopped over, but referee Dave Pearson ruled him held up. To add injury to insult, Drahm then kicked them further ahead with three straight penalties.

Andrew Blowers, a menace at the ruck all afternoon, was sin-binned for killing the ball, but his absence was balanced by Gloucester losing Azam for the same offence.