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Northampton isn't exactly the most tropical destination globally, but its rugby union team offers a great deal of excitement and passion.

In a place renowned for footwear manufacturing, you would think kicking to be the Saints’ modus operandi. Yet under head coach Phil Dowson, the side in the club's hues opt to keep ball in hand.

Despite embodying a quintessentially English location, they display a flair associated with the best Gallic exponents of expansive play.

After Dowson and the head 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 last season’s final and eliminated by the Irish province in a penultimate round earlier.

They currently top the Prem table after multiple successes and a single stalemate and visit Ashton Gate on the weekend as the just one without a loss, aiming for a first win at their opponent's ground since 2021.

It would be natural to think Dowson, who featured in 262 premier fixtures for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester combined, had long intended to be a coach.

“During my career, I never seriously considered it,” he states. “But as you get older, you comprehend how much you love the rugby, and what the real world is like. I worked briefly at a financial institution doing a trial period. You do the commute a multiple instances, and it was tough – you see what you do and don’t have.”

Conversations with Dusty Hare and Jim Mallinder led to a role at the Saints. Jump ahead eight years and Dowson manages a roster ever more filled 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 major effect off the bench in England’s flawless campaign while the number ten, down the line, will take over the fly-half role.

Is the rise of this outstanding generation attributable to the club's environment, or is it luck?

“It's a combination of the two,” comments Dowson. “My thanks go to Chris Boyd, who thrust them into action, and we had some tough days. But the experience they had as a unit is definitely one of the reasons they are so close-knit and so gifted.”

Dowson also cites Mallinder, a former boss at Franklin’s Gardens, as a key figure. “I’ve been fortunate to be guided by highly engaging individuals,” he adds. “He had a big impact on my rugby life, my management style, how I manage others.”

The team play attractive the game, which became obvious in the instance of their new signing. The Frenchman was involved with the opposing team overcome in the Champions Cup in the spring when Freeman registered a triple. He was impressed sufficiently to buck the pattern of British stars moving to France.

“A friend called me and remarked: ‘We've found a Gallic number ten who’s seeking a club,’” Dowson recalls. “I replied: ‘We lack the funds for a overseas star. Another target will have to wait.’

‘He wants new challenges, for the opportunity to test himself,’ my friend told me. That intrigued us. We met with him and his communication was outstanding, he was eloquent, he had a witty personality.

“We asked: ‘What do you want from this?’ He said to be coached, to be driven, to be facing unfamiliar situations and outside the domestic competition. I was saying: ‘Come on in, you’re a great person.’ And he proved to be. We’re lucky to have him.”

Dowson says the 20-year-old the flanker brings a unique energy. Does he know an individual like him? “Never,” Dowson responds. “Each person is original but Pollock is different and unique in multiple respects. He’s fearless to be who he is.”

Pollock’s sensational score against Leinster last season illustrated his unusual ability, but various his expressive in-game antics have brought allegations of arrogance.

“He sometimes seems arrogant in his conduct, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson says. “Plus Henry’s not joking around constantly. In terms of strategy he has contributions – he’s no fool. I think sometimes it’s portrayed that he’s only a character. But he’s clever and a positive influence within the team.”

Hardly any managers would describe themselves as enjoying a tight friendship with a colleague, but that is how Dowson characterizes his partnership with Vesty.

“Together possess an interest regarding various topics,” he says. “We run a book club. He desires to explore various elements, aims to learn all there is, wants to experience new experiences, and I believe I’m the same.

“We converse on lots of things beyond the game: cinema, literature, ideas, art. When we played the Parisian club last year, Notre-Dame was undergoing restoration, so we had a quick look.”

One more fixture in Gall is coming up: Northampton’s comeback with the Prem will be short-lived because the continental event kicks in next week. The French side, in the shadow of the mountain range, are up first on the coming weekend before the South African team travel to a week later.

“I refuse to be arrogant sufficiently to {