🔗 Share this article

Northampton may not be the most tropical location on the planet, but its rugby union team offers a great deal of excitement and passion.

In a city renowned for shoe production, you would think kicking to be the Saints’ primary strategy. Yet under leader Phil Dowson, the squad in green, black and gold opt to run with the ball.

Although playing for a quintessentially English community, they exhibit a panache associated with the best French practitioners of champagne rugby.

Since Dowson and the head coach Sam Vesty took over in 2022, the Saints have secured the English top flight and progressed well in the European competition – defeated by Bordeaux-Bègles in the ultimate match and knocked out by Dublin-based club in a penultimate round before that.

They currently top the competition ladder after a series of victories and one tie and visit their West Country rivals on the weekend as the sole undefeated team, seeking a initial success at Ashton Gate since 2021.

It would be typical to think Dowson, who featured in 262 premier matches for various teams in total, consistently aimed to be a trainer.

“When I played, I didn't really think about it,” he states. “However as you mature, you understand how much you appreciate the sport, and what the normal employment is like. I had a stint at Metro Bank doing work experience. You do the commute a multiple instances, and it was tough – you see what you have going for you.”

Conversations with Dusty Hare and Jim Mallinder resulted in a position at the Saints. Jump ahead several seasons and Dowson guides a roster progressively packed with global stars: prominent figures were selected for the Red Rose versus the All Blacks two weeks ago.

Henry Pollock also had a profound impact from the replacements in the national team's successful series while the number ten, eventually, will inherit the fly-half role.

Is the rise of this outstanding generation attributable to the club's environment, or is it chance?

“It's a mix of each,” comments Dowson. “I would acknowledge the former director of rugby, who gave them opportunities, and we had challenging moments. But the experience they had as a unit is definitely one of the causes they are so united and so skilled.”

Dowson also mentions Mallinder, another predecessor at the club's home, as a key figure. “I was lucky to be mentored by exceptionally insightful people,” he says. “Jim had a big impact on my professional journey, my training methods, how I manage individuals.”

Northampton execute attractive the game, which became obvious in the instance of the French fly-half. The Gallic player was part of the French club beaten in the continental tournament in the spring when Freeman registered a three tries. Belleau liked what he saw sufficiently to buck the pattern of UK players joining Top 14 sides.

“A friend rang me and remarked: ‘There’s a French 10 who’s seeking a side,’” Dowson explains. “My response was: ‘There's no budget for a French fly-half. Another target will have to wait.’

‘He’s looking for new challenges, for the opportunity to test himself,’ my mate informed me. That intrigued us. We met with him and his communication was excellent, he was well-spoken, he had a witty personality.

“We questioned: ‘What do you want from this?’ He answered to be guided, to be pushed, to be facing unfamiliar situations and beyond the French league. I was saying: ‘Come on in, you’re a fantastic individual.’ And he has been. We’re blessed to have him.”

Dowson states the emerging Pollock brings a particular enthusiasm. Does he know an individual like him? “Never,” Dowson responds. “Each person is individual but Henry is different and unique in many ways. He’s unafraid to be authentic.”

Pollock’s sensational score against their opponents in the past campaign demonstrated his freakish talent, but various his expressive in-game antics have brought accusations of overconfidence.

“At times seems cocky in his behavior, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson clarifies. “Plus he's being serious constantly. In terms of strategy he has input – he’s not a clown. I believe sometimes it’s portrayed that he’s only a character. But he’s intelligent and a positive influence in the squad.”

Not many coaches would describe themselves as sharing a close bond with a assistant, but that is how Dowson characterizes his partnership with Vesty.

“Sam and I share an inquisitiveness about various topics,” he says. “We run a book club. He aims to discover everything, wants to know everything, aims to encounter varied activities, and I think I’m the same.

“We discuss lots of topics outside rugby: cinema, literature, ideas, creativity. When we faced the Parisian club in the past season, the cathedral was under renovation, so we had a brief exploration.”

A further match in the French nation is looming: Northampton’s reacquaintance with the domestic league will be short-lived because the continental event takes over soon. The French side, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, are the initial challenge on the coming weekend before the Pretoria-based club arrive at soon after.

“I’m not going to be overconfident enough to {