Saints Coach Phil Dowson: ‘My Bank Job Was a Real Challenge’

Northampton is hardly the most exotic location globally, but its rugby union team provides an abundance of romance and adventure.

In a place known for boot‑making, you would think punting to be the Northampton's modus operandi. However under leader Phil Dowson, the side in the club's hues choose to run with the ball.

Despite representing a typically British location, they display a panache synonymous with the finest Gallic masters of champagne rugby.

From the time Dowson and fellow coach Sam Vesty stepped up in 2022, Northampton have won the domestic league and gone deep in the Champions Cup – losing to a French side in last season’s final and knocked out by Dublin-based club in a last-four clash previously.

They lead the Prem table after multiple successes and a single stalemate and travel to Bristol on the weekend as the sole undefeated team, chasing a maiden victory at Ashton Gate since 2021.

It would be expected to think Dowson, who participated in 262 premier matches for multiple clubs combined, consistently aimed to be a coach.

“When I played, I never seriously considered it,” he says. “However as you get older, you realise how much you love the game, and what the normal employment is like. I spent some time at Metro Bank doing work experience. You do the commute a several occasions, and it was challenging – you realise what you possess and lack.”

Conversations with club legends culminated in a position at the Saints. Jump ahead several seasons and Dowson guides a roster increasingly filled with national team players: Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles lined up for the Red Rose versus the New Zealand two weeks ago.

An emerging talent also had a profound impact off the bench in the national team's successful series while the fly-half, eventually, will inherit the fly-half role.

Is the rise of this outstanding generation because of the team's ethos, or is it luck?

“This is a combination of the two,” says Dowson. “I’d credit the former director of rugby, who thrust them into action, and we had difficult periods. But the practice they had as a unit is certainly one of the reasons they are so close-knit and so skilled.”

Dowson also cites his predecessor, another predecessor at the club's home, as a significant mentor. “I was lucky to be coached by highly engaging people,” he adds. “He had a big impact on my rugby life, my management style, how I interact with individuals.”

Northampton demonstrate entertaining rugby, which became obvious in the case of the French fly-half. The Gallic player was part of the Clermont XV overcome in the Champions Cup in the spring when the winger scored a triple. He liked what he saw to such an extent to go against the flow of English talent moving to France.

“A mate called me and said: ‘There’s a French 10 who’s seeking a club,’” Dowson recalls. “I replied: ‘We lack the money for a overseas star. A different option will have to wait.’

‘He’s looking for new challenges, for the opportunity to test himself,’ my friend informed me. That interested me. We spoke to Anthony and his English was excellent, he was eloquent, he had a sense of humour.

“We asked: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He said to be trained, to be pushed, to be outside his comfort zone and away from the French league. I was thinking: ‘Come on in, you’re a fantastic individual.’ And he turned out to be. We’re lucky to have him.”

Dowson comments the 20-year-old the flanker provides a specific enthusiasm. Has he coached anyone like him? “Not really,” Dowson replies. “Everyone’s individual but he is unusual and remarkable in many ways. He’s fearless to be who he is.”

The player's breathtaking score against the Irish side last season illustrated his unusual ability, but various his demonstrative during matches behavior have brought claims of overconfidence.

“On occasion seems arrogant in his behavior, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson asserts. “Furthermore Pollock is not joking around the whole time. In terms of strategy he has contributions – he’s not a clown. I feel on occasion it’s shown that he’s only a character. But he’s intelligent and good fun to have around.”

Not many managers would admit to sharing a close bond with a head coach, but that is how Dowson characterizes his connection with his co-coach.

“Sam and I have an inquisitiveness regarding diverse subjects,” he says. “We maintain a reading group. He desires to explore everything, aims to learn each detail, aims to encounter varied activities, and I believe I’m the same.

“We talk about many subjects away from the sport: films, literature, ideas, art. When we faced the Parisian club last year, the cathedral was undergoing restoration, so we had a little wander around.”

A further fixture in France is approaching: The Saints' reacquaintance with the domestic league will be brief because the Champions Cup takes over next week. Their next opponents, in the vicinity of the border region, are the opening fixture on matchday before the South African team visit soon after.

“I refuse to be arrogant enough to {