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Northampton isn't exactly the most glamorous spot in the world, but its squad offers a great deal of romance and adventure.

In a town famous for footwear manufacturing, you might expect kicking to be the Saints’ modus operandi. Yet under head coach Phil Dowson, the team in their distinctive colors opt to run with the ball.

Even though playing for a quintessentially English town, they display a panache associated with the best Gallic exponents of attacking rugby.

From the time Dowson and fellow coach Sam Vesty took over in 2022, the Saints have won the Premiership and advanced far in the Champions Cup – defeated by their Gallic opponents in the ultimate match and knocked out by the Irish province in a penultimate round previously.

They lead the competition ladder after four wins and a draw and visit Ashton Gate on matchday as the only unbeaten side, aiming for a initial success at their opponent's ground since 2021.

It would be natural to think Dowson, who participated in 262 elite fixtures for multiple clubs in total, had long intended to be a coach.

“As a professional, I never seriously considered it,” he says. “Yet as you get older, you comprehend how much you enjoy the game, and what the everyday life entails. I spent some time at a financial institution doing an internship. You travel to work a few times, and it was tough – you grasp what you do and don’t have.”

Talks with Dusty Hare and Jim Mallinder culminated in a position at Northampton. Move forward eight years and Dowson guides a roster ever more packed with global stars: Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles started for England facing the the Kiwis two weeks ago.

Henry Pollock also had a significant influence as a substitute in the national team's perfect autumn while the fly-half, eventually, will assume the fly-half role.

Is the development of this outstanding generation attributable to the Saints’ culture, or is it fortune?

“It is a bit of both,” says Dowson. “My thanks go to the former director of rugby, who thrust them into action, and we had some tough days. But the exposure they had as a unit is undoubtedly one of the causes they are so united and so gifted.”

Dowson also namechecks Mallinder, another predecessor at their stadium, as a key figure. “It was my good fortune to be guided by highly engaging personalities,” he says. “Mallinder had a big impact on my career, my training methods, how I interact with individuals.”

The team play attractive rugby, which proved literally true in the example of the French fly-half. The Frenchman was a member of the French club defeated in the Champions Cup in the spring when Tommy Freeman registered a triple. He liked what he saw enough to go against the flow of English talent heading across the Channel.

“A friend phoned me and said: ‘There’s a French 10 who’s in search of a club,’” Dowson recalls. “I replied: ‘We lack the funds for a overseas star. Another target will have to wait.’

‘He’s looking for experience, for the possibility to prove his worth,’ my friend told me. That intrigued us. We met with him and his communication was incredible, he was articulate, he had a funny side.

“We inquired: ‘What are your goals from this?’ He answered to be trained, to be challenged, to be outside his comfort zone and beyond the French league. I was thinking: ‘Come on in, you’re a great person.’ And he turned out to be. We’re lucky to have him.”

Dowson states the emerging Henry Pollock brings a unique energy. Has he coached an individual comparable? “Never,” Dowson replies. “Each person is individual but he is unusual and remarkable in many ways. He’s fearless to be himself.”

The player's sensational try against their opponents last season demonstrated his freakish ability, but a few of his expressive in-game actions have resulted in claims of overconfidence.

“He sometimes comes across as cocky in his behavior, but he’s far from it,” Dowson asserts. “Furthermore Henry’s not taking the piss the whole time. Tactically he has ideas – he’s no fool. I believe on occasion it’s shown that he’s only a character. But he’s intelligent and a positive influence in the squad.”

Few coaches would claim to have sharing a close bond with a head coach, but that is how Dowson frames his relationship with his co-coach.

“We both possess an curiosity around different things,” he explains. “We maintain a literary circle. He wants to see everything, seeks to understand everything, desires to try varied activities, and I feel like I’m the similar.

“We converse on lots of subjects beyond rugby: films, literature, ideas, art. When we faced our French rivals last year, Notre-Dame was undergoing restoration, so we had a brief exploration.”

A further match in Gall is coming up: The Saints' comeback with the Prem will be brief because the European tournament intervenes shortly. Pau, in the shadow of the Pyrenees, are up first on matchday before the Pretoria-based club arrive at a week later.

“I refuse to be overconfident to the extent to {