Northampton’s Dowson Prepares for Gloucester’s Expected Backlash

Phil Dowson, who became Northampton’s director of rugby ahead of the 2022-23 season, anticipates a strong reaction from Gloucester this Saturday. This expectation follows Northampton Saints’ overwhelming victory in their corresponding fixture last season. In that previous game, the Saints secured a 90-0 win, scoring 14 tries and setting multiple new records. England wing Ollie Sleightholme contributed three of these tries. The upcoming match marks the resumption of the Premiership, which had been paused for a month due to the autumn internationals. Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Director of Rugby Dowson stated, “We’ve been in those situations where we’ve taken results like that and know what it means to go back somewhere and try to put it right.” He further added, “I’m under no illusions about what’s coming this weekend and I don’t think the players are, it’s always worth reminding yourself of the context of that game and how they were resting players for a European final.” Dowson also commented, “We do know the emotional trigger that it will provide for them. That’s part of the game, you’re going to get a hiding at some point and it’s how you react to that – and I’ve no doubt there will be a reaction from Gloucester.” The Saints currently report no injury concerns. They are positioned seventh in the table after six rounds of matches, one spot below Gloucester. However, Dowson indicated that Tommy Freeman would require a rest “over the next three weeks” due to his participation in all of England’s autumn matches. The reigning champions, who recently signed Samoa back row Iakopo Mapu this week, enter the match having secured victories in all three Premiership Rugby Cup games played earlier in the month. Dowson stated, “The quality of the side we picked against Coventry (last weekend) was in preparation to get into Gloucester.” He added, “We’re fortunate to have lots of internationals returning who are full of beans and ready to prove a point.” Dowson emphasized, “We’ve got to make sure that our training level is such that it gives us the best preparation for a performance on Saturday.” While Northampton is known for its slick, attacking rugby, Dowson aims for other aspects of their play to also receive recognition. He elaborated, “We want to see a dominant scrum being ‘the Saints way’. We want to see our work-rate off a line break as ‘the Saints way’. The Saints line-out, we know what it looks like and we want to get it on the pitch.” Dowson concluded, “We do have a stereotype of being a flamboyant, attacking side that goes wide, but that’s built on massive physicality, aggression and all those other elements which are also ‘the Saints way’.”