Phil Dowson addresses talk of Northampton Saints fielding B-team

Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson says he could rest some of his front-line players for Saturday’s final game of the regular season to protect them after already claiming a home semi-final.

Dowson admits it’s a balancing act between what’s best for the player and what’s best for the team as they look to keep players match-ready, avoid injuries and maintain momentum for the business end of the campaign.

He says it will be done on a case-by-case basis as his side looks to claim a second Gallagher PREM title in three years at Twickenham in three weeks’ time.

“I think this is definitely one of the weeks where we have to work out what’s best for the individual. How we’ll do it depends on what’s best for that player in that position, how many minutes they have played this season and how many minutes they have played in the last six weeks.

“How are they playing? Are they in good form? Do we need to get some momentum out of it? All those sorts of different things for different individuals.

“I think it depends on what you’d define as front line. There might be some front-line guys who’ve just returned from injury who will play because they need to get more minutes under their belt.

“There might be guys who’ve been out a week, but we think they need more minutes. Some players have come up and said they want to play because they want to make sure they’ve got the requisite minutes ready for the semi-final.

“It won’t be a case of all our frontliners not playing. We want to make sure we put on a good performance against Quins to keep the momentum going and give us the best opportunity to roll into that semi-final week.

“I think they’ll be wanting to show that they want to play in Europe next year. They’ll also want to show their capabilities and finish the season on a high note after a frustrating season,” he said.