Saints Director of Rugby Phil Dowson: ‘I Tried Working for a Bank – It Was Tough’
Northampton is hardly the most tropical spot on the planet, but its squad offers plenty of romance and adventure.
In a place renowned for shoe production, you could anticipate boot work to be the Northampton's main approach. However under the director of rugby Phil Dowson, the squad in their distinctive colors prefer to retain possession.
Even though representing a distinctly UK town, they display a style typical of the greatest Gallic practitioners of attacking rugby.
After Dowson and the head coach Sam Vesty assumed control in 2022, the Saints have won the domestic league and gone deep in the Champions Cup – beaten by their Gallic opponents in the previous campaign's decider and ousted by Leinster in a last-four clash previously.
They currently top the league standings after four wins and a draw and visit their West Country rivals on Saturday as the only unbeaten side, aiming for a first win at their opponent's ground since 2021.
It would be expected to think Dowson, who featured in 262 top-flight matches for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester in total, had long intended to be a coach.
“As a professional, I hadn't given it much thought,” he states. “However as you age, you realise how much you appreciate the rugby, and what the everyday life is like. I spent some time at Metro Bank doing an internship. You make the journey a several occasions, and it was difficult – you realise what you do and don’t have.”
Talks with club legends culminated in a position at Northampton. Move forward a decade and Dowson guides a roster ever more packed with global stars: key individuals were selected for England versus the All Blacks two weeks ago.
An emerging talent also had a significant influence from the replacements in the national team's perfect autumn while the number ten, down the line, will assume the fly-half role.
Is the rise of this outstanding generation because of the Saints’ culture, or is it luck?
“This is a bit of both,” comments Dowson. “My thanks go to Chris Boyd, who thrust them into action, and we had difficult periods. But the exposure they had as a collective is certainly one of the causes they are so united and so gifted.”
Dowson also mentions Mallinder, an earlier coach at their stadium, as a significant mentor. “I was lucky to be guided by highly engaging individuals,” he notes. “He had a significant influence on my rugby life, my coaching, how I manage others.”
Saints play appealing football, which became obvious in the case of the French fly-half. The Gallic player was involved with the Clermont XV beaten in the European competition in the spring when Freeman registered a hat-trick. He liked what he saw sufficiently 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 looking for a team,’” Dowson explains. “My response was: ‘There's no money for a overseas star. Thomas Ramos will have to wait.’
‘He desires a fresh start, for the possibility to test himself,’ my friend told me. That intrigued us. We spoke to him and his English was excellent, he was well-spoken, he had a sense of humour.
“We questioned: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He said to be coached, to be pushed, to be facing unfamiliar situations and beyond the domestic competition. I was like: ‘Come on in, you’re a legend of a man.’ And he has been. We’re lucky to have him.”
Dowson comments the 20-year-old Henry Pollock offers a particular energy. Has he encountered an individual similar? “Not really,” Dowson responds. “Everyone’s original but Henry is distinct and special in many ways. He’s unafraid to be who he is.”
Pollock’s spectacular try against the Irish side previously demonstrated his freakish skill, but some of his demonstrative on-field behavior have resulted in accusations of cockiness.
“At times appears cocky in his behavior, but he’s not,” Dowson says. “Plus Henry’s being serious the whole time. Tactically he has contributions – he’s no fool. I believe at times it’s depicted that he’s just this idiot. But he’s intelligent and good fun to have around.”
Not many directors of rugby would admit to having a bromance with a assistant, but that is how Dowson describes his connection with his co-coach.
“Together possess an curiosity regarding different things,” he notes. “We have a reading group. He aims to discover everything, aims to learn each detail, aims to encounter new experiences, and I believe I’m the alike.
“We discuss lots of subjects away from rugby: cinema, literature, ideas, creativity. When we faced Stade [Français] previously, Notre-Dame was under renovation, so we had a brief exploration.”
Another match in Gall is approaching: Northampton’s comeback with the domestic league will be short-lived because the European tournament kicks in soon. Their next opponents, in the shadow of the border region, are the initial challenge on Sunday week before the Pretoria-based club visit a week later.
“I won't be presumptuous sufficiently to {