🔗 Share this article

Northampton isn't exactly the most exotic location globally, but its club offers an abundance of thrills and drama.

In a town known for boot‑making, you might expect boot work to be the Saints’ primary strategy. But under the director of rugby Phil Dowson, the squad in the club's hues prefer to retain possession.

Even though playing for a distinctly UK community, they display a panache synonymous with the best Gallic masters of champagne rugby.

From the time Dowson and his colleague Sam Vesty took over in 2022, the Saints have claimed victory in the English top flight and advanced far in the Champions Cup – defeated by a French side in the previous campaign's decider and eliminated by Dublin-based club in a last-four clash before that.

They sit atop the competition ladder after multiple successes and a single stalemate and visit their West Country rivals on matchday as the sole undefeated team, aiming for a first win at Ashton Gate since 2021.

It would be expected to think Dowson, who played 262 premier matches for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester combined, always planned to be a manager.

“As a professional, I hadn't given it much thought,” he says. “But as you mature, you realise how much you appreciate the game, and what the normal employment looks like. I worked briefly at a financial institution doing work experience. You do the commute a few times, and it was tough – you grasp what you do and don’t have.”

Conversations with Dusty Hare and Jim Mallinder culminated in a job at Northampton. Jump ahead a decade and Dowson manages a squad ever more crammed with national team players: prominent figures were selected for the Red Rose versus the New Zealand two weeks ago.

An emerging talent also had a profound impact from the replacements in the national team's perfect autumn while the number ten, down the line, will take over the fly-half role.

Is the emergence of this exceptional generation due to the club's environment, or is it luck?

“This is a combination of the two,” states Dowson. “My thanks go to an ex-coach, who thrust them into action, and we had difficult periods. But the practice they had as a group is definitely one of the causes they are so close-knit and so skilled.”

Dowson also namechecks his predecessor, another predecessor at their stadium, as a major influence. “I was lucky to be mentored by exceptionally insightful people,” he notes. “He had a significant influence on my professional journey, my training methods, how I interact with people.”

Northampton play entertaining rugby, which proved literally true in the case of the French fly-half. The import was a member of the opposing team beaten in the continental tournament in the spring when the winger registered a three tries. The player was impressed enough to reverse the trend of UK players joining Top 14 sides.

“An associate rang me and stated: ‘We've found a Gallic number ten who’s in search of a club,’” Dowson recalls. “I said: ‘There's no money for a French fly-half. A different option will have to wait.’

‘He desires new challenges, for the possibility to test himself,’ my friend said. That caught my attention. We met with him and his English was incredible, he was eloquent, he had a funny side.

“We asked: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He responded to be coached, to be driven, to be facing unfamiliar situations and outside the French league. I was saying: ‘Welcome aboard, you’re a great person.’ And he has been. We’re blessed to have him.”

Dowson states the young the flanker provides a specific vitality. Has he coached a player comparable? “No,” Dowson responds. “All players are unique but he is unusual and remarkable in multiple respects. He’s unafraid to be himself.”

His spectacular score against Leinster in the past campaign demonstrated his exceptional ability, but various his animated on-field behavior have led to accusations of arrogance.

“At times appears arrogant in his actions, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson asserts. “Furthermore Pollock is not taking the piss constantly. Game-wise he has ideas – he’s not a clown. I think at times it’s depicted that he’s just this idiot. But he’s clever and a positive influence to have around.”

Not many managers would claim to have having a bromance with a head coach, but that is how Dowson frames his relationship with his co-coach.

“Together share an inquisitiveness regarding different things,” he explains. “We have a reading group. He aims to discover everything, aims to learn each detail, desires to try varied activities, and I think I’m the similar.

“We converse on lots of things beyond the sport: movies, books, ideas, art. When we met the Parisian club in the past season, Notre-Dame was under renovation, so we had a quick look.”

A further date in France is looming: The Saints' return with the domestic league will be short-lived because the continental event kicks in shortly. Pau, in the vicinity of the Pyrenees, are the opening fixture on matchday before the Pretoria-based club arrive at a week later.

“I’m not going to be overconfident to the extent to {