🔗 Share this article

This English town may not be the most tropical location on the planet, but its squad delivers plenty of romance and adventure.

In a city famous for footwear manufacturing, you would think kicking to be the Northampton's main approach. Yet under leader Phil Dowson, the team in the club's hues prefer to run with the ball.

Even though embodying a typically British location, they exhibit a flair typical of the best French masters of champagne rugby.

Since Dowson and fellow coach Sam Vesty took over in 2022, the Saints have secured the domestic league and gone deep in the Champions Cup – losing to a French side in the ultimate match and eliminated by Leinster in a semi-final earlier.

They sit atop the competition ladder after four wins and a draw and visit Ashton Gate on matchday as the only unbeaten side, aiming for a first win at Bristol's home since 2021.

It would be typical to think Dowson, who played 262 top-flight matches for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester altogether, consistently aimed to be a manager.

“When I played, I hadn't given it much thought,” he remarks. “But as you get older, you comprehend how much you appreciate the game, and what the normal employment looks like. I spent some time at a financial institution doing work experience. You travel to work a several occasions, and it was difficult – you see what you do and don’t have.”

Talks with Dusty Hare and Jim Mallinder resulted in a job at Northampton. Fast-forward several seasons and Dowson manages a roster progressively filled with national team players: key individuals lined up for the national side versus the the Kiwis two weeks ago.

An emerging talent also had a profound impact from the replacements in England’s flawless campaign while Fin Smith, in time, will assume the No 10 jersey.

Is the rise of this exceptional cohort due to the club's environment, or is it fortune?

“This is a bit of both,” states Dowson. “I would acknowledge the former director of rugby, who gave them opportunities, and we had difficult periods. But the practice they had as a unit is definitely one of the causes they are so tight and so talented.”

Dowson also namechecks Jim Mallinder, an earlier coach at Franklin’s Gardens, as a key figure. “It was my good fortune to be mentored by highly engaging people,” he adds. “He had a big impact on my professional journey, my training methods, how I manage people.”

The team play appealing football, which became obvious in the example of the French fly-half. The import was part of the opposing team defeated in the European competition in last season when the winger notched a hat-trick. The player admired the style enough to go against the flow of British stars joining Top 14 sides.

“A mate called me and said: ‘We know of a fly-half from France who’s in search of a team,’” Dowson explains. “I said: ‘We don’t have funds for a overseas star. Thomas Ramos will have to wait.’

‘He wants new challenges, for the chance to challenge himself,’ my mate said. That interested me. We had a conversation with Belleau 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 trained, to be pushed, to be outside his comfort zone and beyond the Top 14. I was thinking: ‘Join us, you’re a great person.’ And he proved to be. We’re fortunate to have him.”

Dowson says the 20-year-old Pollock provides a particular vitality. Has he encountered an individual like him? “No,” Dowson answers. “All players are individual but he is different and unique in many ways. He’s unafraid to be himself.”

His sensational touchdown against their opponents previously showcased his exceptional ability, but various his expressive on-field actions have led to claims of overconfidence.

“On occasion appears cocky in his conduct, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson says. “Plus he's being serious constantly. In terms of strategy he has contributions – he’s not a clown. I feel sometimes it’s depicted that he’s merely a joker. But he’s bright and a positive influence within the team.”

Hardly any coaches would claim to have having a bromance with a assistant, but that is how Dowson describes his partnership with his co-coach.

“We both have an curiosity regarding various topics,” he notes. “We maintain a book club. He desires to explore everything, seeks to understand everything, aims to encounter different things, and I think I’m the alike.

“We discuss many subjects away from rugby: films, literature, concepts, culture. When we met the Parisian club last year, Notre-Dame was being done up, so we had a quick look.”

A further fixture in the French nation is looming: The Saints' reacquaintance with the Prem will be short-lived because the continental event kicks in soon. Their next opponents, in the shadow of the border region, are up first on matchday before the South African team travel to the following weekend.

“I won't be arrogant enough to {