Saints Coach Phil Dowson: ‘I Tried Working for a Bank – It Was Tough’
This English town isn't exactly the most tropical destination on the planet, but its squad delivers plenty of excitement and passion.
In a place known for footwear manufacturing, you could anticipate punting to be the Northampton's main approach. However under head coach Phil Dowson, the team in green, black and gold choose to run with the ball.
Although embodying a quintessentially English location, they showcase a style typical of the greatest Gallic exponents of attacking rugby.
After Dowson and his colleague Sam Vesty took over in 2022, the Saints have claimed victory in the English top flight and progressed well in the European competition – losing to a French side in last season’s final and eliminated by Leinster in a semi-final previously.
They lead the Prem table after multiple successes and a single stalemate and head to Bristol on Saturday as the only unbeaten side, seeking a first win at Ashton Gate since 2021.
It would be expected to think Dowson, who played 262 elite fixtures for various teams in total, always planned to be a manager.
“When I played, I hadn't given it much thought,” he remarks. “Yet as you get older, you realise how much you appreciate the sport, and what the everyday life entails. I had a stint at a banking firm doing an internship. You make the journey a few times, and it was challenging – you grasp what you possess and lack.”
Conversations with club legends led to a position at the Saints. Jump ahead several seasons and Dowson guides a team progressively packed with national team players: key individuals were selected for the national side facing the New Zealand two weeks ago.
The young flanker also had a major effect from the replacements in England’s flawless campaign while the fly-half, down the line, will inherit the pivotal position.
Is the emergence of this exceptional cohort because of the Saints’ culture, or is it chance?
“It's a combination of the two,” comments Dowson. “I’d credit the former director of rugby, who basically just threw them in, and we had some tough days. But the practice they had as a collective is definitely one of the reasons they are so tight and so skilled.”
Dowson also mentions his predecessor, a former boss at the club's home, as a key figure. “It was my good fortune to be guided by exceptionally insightful people,” he notes. “Mallinder had a significant influence on my professional journey, my training methods, how I manage others.”
Saints demonstrate attractive the game, which proved literally true in the case of Anthony Belleau. The import was part of the Clermont XV overcome in the European competition in April when Tommy Freeman scored a hat-trick. He liked what he saw enough to go against the flow of English talent heading across the Channel.
“An associate rang me and stated: ‘We've found a French 10 who’s in search of a team,’” Dowson says. “My response was: ‘We don’t have funds for a imported playmaker. Thomas Ramos will have to wait.’
‘He desires experience, for the chance to prove his worth,’ my friend said. That interested me. We had a conversation with him and his language skills was excellent, he was well-spoken, he had a witty personality.
“We questioned: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He responded to be trained, to be driven, to be facing unfamiliar situations and away from the Top 14. I was saying: ‘Come on in, you’re a legend of a man.’ And he proved to be. We’re lucky to have him.”
Dowson comments the 20-year-old Pollock brings a particular energy. Has he coached a player comparable? “Not really,” Dowson replies. “Each person is original but Pollock is different and unique in many ways. He’s not afraid to be authentic.”
His breathtaking try against the Irish side previously illustrated his freakish skill, but various his animated in-game antics have led to allegations of arrogance.
“At times seems arrogant in his behavior, but he’s far from it,” Dowson clarifies. “And Pollock is not taking the piss all the time. Game-wise he has contributions – he’s not a clown. I think at times it’s depicted that he’s only a character. But he’s bright and good fun in the squad.”
Few directors of rugby would admit to enjoying a tight friendship with a head coach, but that is how Dowson characterizes his partnership with Vesty.
“Together possess an inquisitiveness about diverse subjects,” he notes. “We have a reading group. He wants to see all aspects, wants to know each detail, desires to try different things, and I feel like I’m the similar.
“We converse on many things away from the game: cinema, books, ideas, culture. When we played the Parisian club in the past season, Notre-Dame was undergoing restoration, so we had a little wander around.”
A further date in Gall is approaching: Northampton’s reacquaintance with the English competition will be short-lived because the continental event kicks in next week. Pau, in the vicinity of the mountain range, are the initial challenge on Sunday week before the Bulls arrive at soon after.
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