🔗 Share this article

Northampton is hardly the most tropical destination in the world, but its club offers plenty of excitement and passion.

In a town known for footwear manufacturing, you would think punting to be the Saints’ main approach. However under head coach Phil Dowson, the squad in the club's hues opt to keep ball in hand.

Despite playing for a typically British town, they display a panache typical of the best Gallic practitioners of expansive play.

After Dowson and his colleague Sam Vesty stepped up in 2022, the Saints have won the English top flight and progressed well in the Champions Cup – losing to Bordeaux-Bègles in last season’s final and knocked out by the Irish province in a last-four clash earlier.

They currently top the competition ladder after multiple successes and a single stalemate and visit Bristol on Saturday as the only unbeaten side, seeking a first win at their opponent's ground since 2021.

It would be expected to think Dowson, who played 262 premier fixtures for multiple clubs combined, always planned to be a trainer.

“When I played, I didn't really think about it,” he remarks. “Yet as you mature, you comprehend how much you appreciate the game, and what the normal employment looks like. I spent some time at Metro Bank doing an internship. You make the journey a multiple instances, and it was tough – you realise what you do and don’t have.”

Talks with club legends culminated in a job at the Saints. Move forward a decade and Dowson leads a team progressively crammed with internationals: key individuals lined up for the national side against the All Blacks two weeks ago.

The young flanker also had a major effect from the replacements in the national team's successful series while Fin Smith, eventually, will take over the fly-half role.

Is the development of this exceptional generation attributable to the Saints’ culture, or is it fortune?

“It's a mix of each,” states Dowson. “I would acknowledge Chris Boyd, who thrust them into action, and we had difficult periods. But the experience they had as a group is definitely one of the causes they are so united and so talented.”

Dowson also namechecks his predecessor, a former boss at their stadium, as a key figure. “It was my good fortune to be mentored by highly engaging individuals,” he says. “Mallinder had a big impact on my professional journey, my training methods, how I deal with others.”

The team execute appealing rugby, which became obvious in the instance of the French fly-half. The Frenchman was involved with the French club defeated in the European competition in last season when Freeman registered a triple. The player was impressed enough to go against the flow of British stars moving to France.

“An associate rang me and said: ‘We know of a French 10 who’s seeking a team,’” Dowson recalls. “I said: ‘We don’t have funds for a overseas star. A different option will have to wait.’

‘He’s looking for experience, for the opportunity to challenge himself,’ my friend said. That interested me. We met with him and his communication was incredible, he was articulate, he had a witty personality.

“We questioned: ‘What are your goals from this?’ He answered to be trained, to be challenged, to be outside his comfort zone and away from the domestic competition. I was like: ‘Come on in, you’re a fantastic individual.’ And he proved to be. We’re blessed to have him.”

Dowson comments the 20-year-old Pollock offers a particular energy. Has he encountered anyone similar? “No,” Dowson answers. “Each person is original but he is distinct and special in multiple respects. He’s unafraid to be who he is.”

The player's spectacular score against their opponents last season showcased his exceptional talent, but various his expressive during matches antics have led to allegations of cockiness.

“At times comes across as overconfident in his actions, but he’s not,” Dowson says. “And he's being serious the whole time. Tactically he has contributions – he’s no fool. I believe on occasion it’s portrayed that he’s only a character. But he’s clever and great to have within the team.”

Not many managers would admit to having a bromance with a assistant, but that is how Dowson describes his relationship with Vesty.

“Together share an inquisitiveness about different things,” he explains. “We have a literary circle. He aims to discover all aspects, seeks to understand all there is, aims to encounter varied activities, and I think I’m the similar.

“We talk about numerous things away from rugby: cinema, literature, ideas, creativity. When we met Stade [Français] in the past season, Notre-Dame was undergoing restoration, so we had a brief exploration.”

One more fixture in Gall is approaching: Northampton’s return with the domestic league will be short-lived because the continental event takes over shortly. Pau, in the vicinity of the border region, are up first on matchday before the South African team arrive at soon after.

“I won't be arrogant sufficiently to {