Phil Dowson: 'Everyone at this time of year wants to go deep in both'

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson praised his young players for stepping up after his much-changed team defeated Cardiff 28-12 in the Investec Champions Cup.

Dowson rested Henry Pollock, Tommy Freeman and Alex Coles and named Fin Smith on the bench for their European opener, with one eye on next Saturday’s East Midlands derby at Leicester.

Despite the changes, Northampton were able to finally record a first victory for a Gallagher Prem team in the competition after seven failed attempts from their fellow English sides.

Dowson said: “It’s always exciting to see people on that journey – James Pater and Charlie Ulcoq playing their first European game is exciting and we try and make sure they know how special that is.

“Everyone at this time of year wants to go deep in both tournaments, whether it’s league or cup or whatever else, and we’re no different.

“We’re going to have to trust the squad, we’re going to have to use the depth, we’re going to have to give people opportunities and see how they react to pressure.

“I thought on the whole all those players who stepped in were excellent.

“I thought our effort around the loose ball and how we scrambled back when we chased kicks, all those things that are hard to measure which really speak about the effort and the emotional buy-in that the playing group have…”

Tries from Pater and Toby Thame put Northampton into a 14-0 lead at half-time, but Harri Millard went over early in the second half to give Cardiff hope.

Mason Grady’s walk-in moved them to within two points, but George Hendy’s crucial try settled Saints, who wrapped up victory late on through Fraser Dingwall’s score.

Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl said: “It is frustrating because as soon as we get a bit of momentum we lose it again and ultimately that’s how we need to learn as a team.

“We need to keep a few positives consecutively and not go positive and then negative, that was a part of it.

“I thought the boys that stepped in made a real good impact to the game.

“You think about Manzy [Tom Manz] who made his debut, Sion Davies made his debut when he came off the bench, even though it was late.

“Steff Emanuel probably didn’t play as much and he had a great performance, and then Toby [Faletau] back made a huge difference, Semisi [Paea] made his first start for Cardiff.

“I think just looking at that, the changes we were forced to make to manage next week (against the Sharks), we can be really proud of the boys and how they stepped up.”