🔗 Share this article

This English town may not be the most exotic location in the world, but its rugby union team delivers an abundance of thrills and drama.

In a place known for shoe production, you might expect punting to be the Saints’ main approach. Yet under the director of rugby Phil Dowson, the team in green, black and gold choose to keep ball in hand.

Despite playing for a quintessentially English town, they display a panache typical of the finest French practitioners of champagne rugby.

From the time Dowson and his colleague Sam Vesty took over in 2022, Northampton have claimed victory in the Premiership and progressed well in the Champions Cup – losing to a French side in last season’s final and eliminated by Leinster in a last-four clash earlier.

They currently top the Prem table after a series of victories and one tie and visit Ashton Gate on matchday as the only unbeaten side, chasing a initial success at their opponent's ground since 2021.

It would be typical to think Dowson, who participated in 262 elite fixtures for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester combined, always planned to be a coach.

“When I played, I hadn't given it much thought,” he says. “Yet as you get older, you realise how much you love the rugby, and what the everyday life is like. I had a stint at a financial institution doing a trial period. You make the journey a several occasions, and it was challenging – you realise what you possess and lack.”

Discussions with club legends led to a position at Northampton. Jump ahead several seasons and Dowson manages a team ever more packed with national team players: Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles were selected for the national side versus the the Kiwis two weeks ago.

An emerging talent also had a major effect off the bench in England’s flawless campaign while Fin Smith, down the line, will assume the fly-half role.

Is the development of this outstanding generation due to the club's environment, or is it fortune?

“It's a bit of both,” states Dowson. “I would acknowledge an ex-coach, who gave them opportunities, and we had some tough days. But the exposure they had as a unit is certainly one of the causes they are so united and so gifted.”

Dowson also namechecks Jim Mallinder, an earlier coach at their stadium, as a significant mentor. “I’ve been fortunate to be coached by exceptionally insightful individuals,” he notes. “Mallinder had a major effect on my rugby life, my training methods, how I interact with others.”

The team execute appealing rugby, which proved literally true in the instance of the French fly-half. The import was part of the opposing team beaten in the Champions Cup in last season when the winger notched a triple. The player was impressed sufficiently to buck the pattern of UK players heading across the Channel.

“A friend phoned me and remarked: ‘We've found a Gallic number ten who’s seeking a team,’” Dowson explains. “I said: ‘We lack the funds for a imported playmaker. A different option will have to wait.’

‘He wants new challenges, for the possibility to challenge himself,’ my friend said. That caught my attention. We met with Anthony and his communication was incredible, he was well-spoken, he had a sense of humour.

“We questioned: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He said to be coached, to be driven, to be in a new environment and beyond the French league. I was thinking: ‘Welcome aboard, you’re a fantastic individual.’ And he turned out to be. We’re blessed to have him.”

Dowson says the young Pollock provides a unique energy. Has he encountered anyone comparable? “Not really,” Dowson answers. “Each person is unique but he is distinct and special in multiple respects. He’s fearless to be authentic.”

His sensational try against Leinster in the past campaign demonstrated his freakish ability, but a few of his expressive in-game antics have resulted in allegations of arrogance.

“He sometimes seems cocky in his actions, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson says. “Plus Henry’s not taking the piss all the time. Game-wise he has ideas – he’s no fool. I feel sometimes it’s portrayed that he’s only a character. But he’s intelligent and good fun in the squad.”

Hardly any directors of rugby would describe themselves as sharing a close bond with a colleague, but that is how Dowson characterizes his connection with Vesty.

“Sam and I possess an interest regarding diverse subjects,” he says. “We maintain a literary circle. He wants to see everything, aims to learn each detail, aims to encounter new experiences, and I think I’m the similar.

“We converse on numerous things outside the sport: cinema, reading, concepts, creativity. When we played the Parisian club previously, the landmark was being done up, so we had a little wander around.”

One more date in the French nation is looming: The Saints' return with the domestic league will be temporary because the continental event kicks in soon. Their next opponents, in the shadow of the mountain range, are up first on the coming weekend before the Bulls travel to the following weekend.

“I refuse to be presumptuous sufficiently to {