Dowson: We showed lots of character to come back

Phil Dowson praised the ‘character and heart’ of his Northampton Saints side after coming from behind to defeat Bath in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

The men in Black, Green and Gold were 35-19 down at half-time and fell 23 points behind soon after the restart as the visitors to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens recorded a fifth try.

Having lost a week previously by a single point at Bristol Bears, it was Saints’ turn to inflict late heartbreak as they scored four unanswered tries along with two more Fin Smith conversions to triumph 43-42.

“We showed some heart and we got some momentum back,” said director of rugby Dowson. “We showed we cared about each other and we cared about what we’re trying to do. The result isn’t the be all and end all. But it helps to show what we can do and what we can achieve.

“We always talk about the performance because that’s where most results come from and we didn’t get that, and on another day, playing in bigger games and games that aren’t in the PRC with lots of guys coming in, that’s going to hurt us.”

Dowson’s satisfaction in the second-half response ­– which saw Tommy Freeman bag two tries to complete his hattrick ­– was countered by his disappointment in the first half as Bath helped themselves to a bonus point within 24 minutes of kick-off.

There were big defensive improvements after the break that laid the foundations for a sensational comeback, but with only one match to play against Doncaster Knights at the Gardens next Sunday (8 October)  before the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership gets underway, Dowson knows there’s plenty of work still to do.

He said: “When you start the way we started, we know as a playing group and as a coaching group it’s not acceptable. We didn’t seem present. We had a very disappointing first half.

"We showed lots of character to come back, so fair play for that. I am shocked really because that’s not really been on the cards this pre-season. We’ve had great energy, great enthusiasm. I don’t think we saw much of that in the first half.

“We got rolled over and I think we’re going to have to work out where that’s come from and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Saints’ preparations for the match were impacted by the late withdrawals of two thirds of their back row, as both Sam Graham and Juarno Augustus were withdrawn and replaced by Angus Scott-Young and Henry Pollock.

Dowson said: “Sam is not too bad, he’s got a bit of a muscle strain, he probably could’ve pushed through and played today but I don’t think it was worth it. He should be back for next week, if not, the week after so we’re looking after him.

“Juarno unfortunately is going to be out for an extended amount of time because he’s done something that needs surgery. As yet with various surgeons and scans and such, we’re just waiting to see what comes back but that will be more than four weeks at least.”