🔗 Share this article

Northampton is hardly the most exotic destination globally, but its rugby union team provides plenty of romance and adventure.

In a town known for shoe production, you might expect kicking to be the Saints’ modus operandi. But under leader Phil Dowson, the team in the club's hues opt to keep ball in hand.

Even though representing a quintessentially English town, they exhibit a flair associated with the best Gallic exponents of attacking rugby.

Since Dowson and the head coach Sam Vesty took over in 2022, Northampton have secured the English top flight and gone deep in the Champions Cup – defeated by a French side in the ultimate match and knocked out by Dublin-based club in a penultimate round previously.

They lead the competition ladder after multiple successes and a single stalemate and visit Ashton Gate on matchday as the sole undefeated team, seeking a maiden victory at Ashton Gate since 2021.

It would be natural to think Dowson, who participated in 262 premier fixtures for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester combined, consistently aimed to be a manager.

“When I played, I hadn't given it much thought,” he remarks. “Yet as you mature, you understand how much you appreciate the sport, and what the real world is like. I worked briefly at Metro Bank doing an internship. You make the journey a few times, and it was tough – you grasp what you possess and lack.”

Conversations with former mentors led to a job at the Saints. Move forward eight years and Dowson manages a roster progressively crammed with global stars: prominent figures lined up for the national side facing the the Kiwis two weeks ago.

Henry Pollock also had a major effect as a substitute in the national team's successful series while the fly-half, in time, will take over the pivotal position.

Is the emergence of this remarkable generation because of the club's environment, or is it luck?

“It is a combination of the two,” says Dowson. “My thanks go to Chris Boyd, who thrust them into action, and we had difficult periods. But the practice they had as a unit is undoubtedly one of the reasons they are so united and so skilled.”

Dowson also namechecks his predecessor, another predecessor at Franklin’s Gardens, as a key figure. “I’ve been fortunate to be mentored by exceptionally insightful people,” he notes. “Mallinder had a big impact on my career, my management style, how I deal with people.”

Saints play appealing rugby, which was clearly evident in the case of their new signing. The Gallic player was a member of the French club overcome in the European competition in the spring when the winger notched a hat-trick. He admired the style to such an extent to buck the pattern of UK players heading across the Channel.

“A mate rang me and remarked: ‘We know of a French 10 who’s seeking a team,’” Dowson explains. “My response was: ‘We lack the money for a imported playmaker. A different option will have to wait.’

‘He’s looking for new challenges, for the possibility to challenge himself,’ my friend informed me. That interested me. We spoke to him and his language skills was excellent, he was eloquent, he had a sense of humour.

“We asked: ‘What do you want from this?’ He said to be coached, to be pushed, to be in a new environment and away from the domestic competition. I was thinking: ‘Come on in, you’re a great person.’ And he has been. We’re fortunate to have him.”

Dowson comments the emerging Pollock provides a specific vitality. Has he coached an individual comparable? “Not really,” Dowson replies. “Each person is original but Henry is distinct and special in multiple respects. He’s unafraid to be who he is.”

The player's spectacular touchdown against the Irish side in the past campaign illustrated his unusual ability, but a few of his demonstrative in-game behavior have led to allegations of cockiness.

“At times appears cocky in his actions, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson says. “Plus Pollock is not taking the piss constantly. In terms of strategy he has ideas – he’s no fool. I believe at times it’s shown that he’s merely a joker. But he’s intelligent and a positive influence to have around.”

Hardly any directors of rugby would claim to have having a bromance with a colleague, but that is how Dowson frames his partnership with his co-coach.

“Sam and I have an curiosity about diverse subjects,” he notes. “We maintain a reading group. He aims to discover everything, seeks to understand all there is, desires to try varied activities, and I think I’m the alike.

“We discuss numerous things beyond rugby: cinema, literature, concepts, art. When we met the Parisian club in the past season, Notre-Dame was being done up, so we had a little wander around.”

Another match in the French nation is coming up: The Saints' reacquaintance with the domestic league will be temporary because the continental event takes over shortly. The French side, in the vicinity of the border region, are up first on Sunday week before the Pretoria-based club visit soon after.

“I won't be overconfident enough to {