What Phil Dowson thinks will set Northampton Saints apart

Northampton boss Phil Dowson did not disguise his sense of relief after Saints secured a dramatic 37-35 Gallagher Prem victory over Gloucester at Kingsholm.

Dowson reflected on what he described as almost a “carbon copy” of Saints’ Prem opener against Exeter when they were held to a draw after leading 33-7.

This time, Northampton were 24 points clear at half-time before Gloucester fought back to lead but Saints ultimately overcame a lengthy list of absentees to triumph in bonus-point fashion.

Saints raced clear by half-time after tries from flanker Tom Pearson, centre Tom Litchfield, scrum-half Archie McParland and full-back George Hendy, while Anthony Belleau kicked four conversions and a penalty.

However, a chaotic second period saw Gloucester recover through touchdowns by lock Cam Jordan (2), centre Will Joseph, flanker James Venter and prop Afo Fasogbon, with Ross Byrne kicking five conversions as Saints saw Hendy, Pearson and Tom Lockett collect yellow cards.

Gallagher Premiership

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Saracens

2

2

0

0

10

2

Bath

2

2

0

0

10

3

Exeter Chiefs

2

1

0

1

8

4

Northampton

2

1

0

1

8

5

Leicester

2

1

1

0

6

6

Sale

2

1

1

0

5

7

Bristol

2

1

1

0

5

8

Gloucester

2

0

2

0

2

9

Harlequins

2

0

2

0

1

10

Newcastle

2

0

2

0

0

“It was a carbon copy, almost. We lost momentum and our discipline was very poor, playing with 13 players for large periods of time,” rugby director Dowson said.

“The first kick-off of the second half, they scored from – more or less – and it is clearly something we need to be better at.”

Saints were without 19 players – including their four-strong British and Irish Lions contingent – through injuries or unavailability, and two Belleau penalties in the second half breathlessly saw them home.

Dowson added: “We talked this week about how you regather momentum.

“The whole game is a mental thing. Every club will be working on their set-piece, every club will be in the gym lifting.

“The differential will be on how we can play our game, but also how we think about the game. Those are going to be the things that set us apart

“You don’t want to shut anything down, but you also want to make sure you don’t repeat behaviours, which is what we saw a little bit of today.”

Dowson, meanwhile, confirmed that Saints defence coach Lee Radford will work with Scotland during the November Tests.

“He is looking forward to doing both of his jobs in parallel, taking his expertise up to Scotland. I am sure he will be a huge bonus,” Dowson said.

“From an emotional and technical point of view, he changed the club. Credit for him for doing that, and that has been recognised at international level.”

A run of seven successive home league wins since Bath toppled Gloucester in October 2024 ultimately came to a halt for George Skivington’s team despite Northampton almost completely unravelling.

Skivington said: “At half-time that was a pretty big scoreline to pull back and we have definitely learned something about players we didn’t know before.

“It (two points) is better than coming out with nothing but ultimately that first half is a big hill to climb.

“I didn’t feel the boys were far off but we must have dropped more ball than we did in half of last season. We are going to see what we are made of now and find out about each other.

“The positive is we were staring down the barrel at half time and got back but we are better than that.

“The second half should give the lads lots of confidence and I am proud of the character. That is what keeps you awake at night, if you don’t see that.”