But for Martin Johnson the real positive will be that Moody played a full 80 minutes and the 32-year-old former Leicester man admitted he was relieved for the run out.

“I was a bit nervous going into the game that I would not pick the ball up as quickly but it was fine,” said Moody – who’s only scare was a minor cut to the head which required stitches.

“Even in the dwindling light conditions it did not affect me. There was a very similar situation where the guy was lining up the kick and I didn’t hold back in going to charge him down.

“That was a good mental thing. The eye is all right – it was a case of getting my eye in, so to speak. I just wanted to get out and play.

“I’ve had three or four weeks without a game and that’s never good for a player, it’s frustrating. Having three or four weeks off is not ideal for your fitness but I was really happy to be on the field at the end.”

Elsewhere, London Irish climbed back to the top of the Premiership table after downing Sale with a thrilling 39-26 victory.

The Exiles were 20 points ahead with 25 minutes to play only for Sale to pull level through tries from Anitelea Tuilagi and Ben Cohen as well as four Nick MacLeod kicks.

But two Ryan Lamb penalties – to bring his points tally for the game to 24 – and a try from wing Jonathon Joseph secured the bonus-point win and helped them leapfrog Northampton into first.

The big surprise of the weekend was Ryan Davis – on his first Premiership start – lifting Exeter to an away win over Saracens, scoring 18 points in a 23-9 win.

Elsewhere, tries by Joe Simpson and Tom Rees saw Wasps down Leeds 17-8 while four Billy Twelvetrees penalties weren’t enough for Leicester as they lost 19-12 at Gloucester and Northampton downed Newcastle 34-13 at Franklin’s Gardens.