Saints Coach Phil Dowson: ‘My Bank Job Was a Real Challenge’
This English town isn't exactly the most exotic location globally, but its rugby union team offers plenty of romance and adventure.
In a town famous for shoe production, you would think kicking to be the Northampton's primary strategy. However under head coach Phil Dowson, the side in green, black and gold choose to retain possession.
Although embodying a typically British location, they display a flair synonymous with the greatest French exponents of expansive play.
Since Dowson and his colleague Sam Vesty assumed control in 2022, Northampton have secured the English top flight and gone deep in the continental tournament – losing to a French side in the previous campaign's decider and knocked out by Leinster in a penultimate round earlier.
They lead the league standings after multiple successes and a single stalemate and travel to Bristol on the weekend as the just one without a loss, chasing a initial success at Ashton Gate since 2021.
It would be natural to think Dowson, who participated in 262 top-flight games for various teams altogether, consistently aimed to be a manager.
“As a professional, I never seriously considered it,” he remarks. “But as you get older, you realise how much you appreciate the game, and what the normal employment looks like. I spent some time at a financial institution doing an internship. You do the commute a several occasions, and it was challenging – you grasp what you possess and lack.”
Discussions with former mentors led to a position at Northampton. Move forward several seasons and Dowson guides a team ever more packed with national team players: Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles were selected for the national side facing the the Kiwis two weeks ago.
An emerging talent also had a profound impact off the bench in the national team's flawless campaign while the number ten, down the line, will assume the No 10 jersey.
Is the emergence of this exceptional cohort due to the team's ethos, or is it fortune?
“This is a mix of each,” comments Dowson. “My thanks go to Chris Boyd, who thrust them into action, and we had difficult periods. But the exposure they had as a group is undoubtedly one of the reasons they are so close-knit and so skilled.”
Dowson also mentions Jim Mallinder, a former boss at their stadium, as a key figure. “It was my good fortune to be guided by exceptionally insightful people,” he notes. “Jim had a significant influence on my career, my training methods, how I interact with people.”
The team execute attractive football, which proved literally true in the example of the French fly-half. The Gallic player was involved with the French club defeated in the European competition in the spring when Tommy Freeman notched a triple. Belleau admired the style sufficiently to go against the flow of UK players heading across the Channel.
“A mate called me and said: ‘We've found a French 10 who’s seeking a side,’” Dowson recalls. “My response was: ‘We lack the budget for a overseas star. Another target will have to wait.’
‘He’s looking for a fresh start, for the opportunity to prove his worth,’ my contact informed me. That interested me. We spoke to Anthony and his language skills was incredible, he was articulate, he had a funny side.
“We questioned: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He answered to be trained, to be challenged, to be in a new environment and outside the French league. I was saying: ‘Join us, you’re a fantastic individual.’ And he has been. We’re lucky to have him.”
Dowson states the emerging Henry Pollock brings a specific enthusiasm. Does he know a player similar? “Never,” Dowson replies. “All players are individual but Henry is distinct and special in multiple respects. He’s unafraid to be himself.”
The player's sensational touchdown against Leinster last season demonstrated his exceptional skill, but various his animated on-field actions have resulted in accusations of arrogance.
“On occasion comes across as arrogant in his behavior, but he’s not,” Dowson clarifies. “Plus Henry’s not joking around constantly. Game-wise he has contributions – he’s not a clown. I think sometimes it’s portrayed that he’s merely a joker. But he’s bright and good fun to have around.”
Few coaches would claim to have sharing a close bond with a colleague, but that is how Dowson characterizes his connection with Vesty.
“Sam and I have an inquisitiveness regarding diverse subjects,” he notes. “We run a book club. He wants to see all aspects, aims to learn everything, aims to encounter different things, and I believe I’m the similar.
“We converse on lots of things away from rugby: films, reading, concepts, art. When we met the Parisian club last year, the cathedral was under renovation, so we had a brief exploration.”
A further fixture in France is looming: The Saints' comeback with the English competition will be short-lived because the continental event intervenes shortly. Their next opponents, in the shadow of the border region, are the initial challenge on Sunday week before the Pretoria-based club travel to a week later.
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