It seems odd to say 'that was just what the doctor ordered' after a defeat, but that was the overriding feeling after Sunday's match.
Exeter Chiefs may have lost at home again, and it may have been the seventh time they have come out on the wrong side of a tight contest in the Aviva Premiership this season, but the display was a vast improvement compared to the previous outing.
Whether Harlequins should have been able to come back from 23-5 down early in the second half is a discussion for another time, the performance really was the most important thing on Sunday.
Against Sale two weeks earlier, there was a generally flat feeling surrounding the match and the atmosphere. The visitors controlled the game well early on to keep the crowd quiet and the Chiefs players had a collective off day that added up to their heaviest home league defeat.
Players and coaches – not to mention supporters – called for an immediate response and a return to what could be considered the usual Exeter Chiefs attitude.
They got that as the hosts defended well all match, being far more pre-active in their tackling and making Quins work harder to get on the front foot than Sale had to as they ran in eight tries.
The crowd responded with more vocal support and there was a much more positive vibe around Sandy Park.
It was not the win that would have seen the Exeter faithful say farewell to some old favourites in style in the final outing at home this term, but that may have been asking too much with the way this season has gone.
The Chiefs do not have a good track record against the sides above them in the table and, with Harlequins still in the running for fourth place and a semi-final spot, were not favourites to turn that around on Sunday.
However, with the sun out and spirits lifted by the obvious desire on show, there could have been far worse ways to hand out the supporters' player of the year award to Dean Mumm on the pitch after the final whistle, and acknowledge the efforts of the whole squad over the campaign.
The key now is making sure that is not just a one-off, that the required hunger and will-to-win remains in place for this Saturday's final match of the campaign at Newcastle, and is also there from the start of next season.
Sunday's defeat also signalled the end to any hopes the Chiefs had of qualifying for next season's European Champions Cup, with Wasps now assured of seventh place and a two-legged play-off against Stade Français.
That will be no bad thing as, with next season's squad primarily built around a core of players with little more than a year's experience of regular Premiership rugby, having the chance to rotate the squad in the less pressurised environment of the Challenge Cup will be a benefit.
Three of the five signings announced so far have little or no experience of top-flight rugby so are bound to take time to settle, while the front-line players will be able to rest more often than they could this term in the top European competition.
Before all that, however, comes that game at Newcastle and the chance to end the season on something of a high. Exeter have not lost against a side below them in the table this season. They'll be hoping they can keep it that way with a good showing at Kingston Park.
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