Northampton Saints got their ‘energy, intent and mindset’ right to return to winning ways against Clermont Auvergne and reach the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final stage.
The men in Black, Green and Gold scored seven tries on their way to a Friday night 46-24 win at cinch Stadium at Frankin’s Gardens – which will the venue for the last-eight showdown against Castres on Saturday 12 April (kick-off: 5.30pm) – tickets are available priced from £21 adult and £6 child by clicking HERE.
“I’m delighted with the performance, with how the group have stuck together over the past two weeks because it has been tough at times, and I’m delighted with how they got stuck in,” said Dowson after ending a three-game losing sequence in emphatic fashion.
“Over the past two weeks, we’ve taken a lot from it and at Sale (in the 27-24 defeat) last week, our energy, intent and mindset was right up there but we didn’t execute very much and we couldn’t exert enough pressure to actually get over the line.
“It’s much easier to coach execution, it’s very hard to coach work rate and those other elements, and the boys came out and went for it.”
Phil Dowson
“They also executed a lot of stuff and although we know it was by no means perfect and we need to look at elements of our game again, it's fantastic for them to get both sides of the game going.”
Leading the charge with his third hat-trick of tries for the club was Tommy Freeman. The England winger struck twice in the first half and once in the second as he extended his golden streak for club and country to 13 tries in as many games.
“Tommy is an exceptional talent,” added Dowson. “He has an ability in the air and to beat people. He is fast, athletic and big, and has a kicking game.
“We have seen over the last couple of seasons what he is capable of and how he can open up the game. In one-on-one contests he is outstanding. He has that desire and mindset to keep improving.
“Things have been pointed out to him in the past by different coaches at club and international level and he has gone away and worked hard on them.
“Although there is a lot of natural athletic ability, it’s the ability to do it time and time again. That takes concentration, and that is how he trains.
“You talk about being in the right place at the right time but he is in more places more often just because of his athleticism.”
A half-century of Saints tries for @TommyFreemo15 👉
— Northampton Saints 😇 (@SaintsRugby) April 5, 2025
This guy is operating on a different level right now. pic.twitter.com/OUNR1VMwWx
Fin Smith landed his fourth Saints try, which contributed to his 16-point haul on the evening, and was followed over the line by Henry Pollock and Juarno Augustus – who struck either side of half time.
While they didn’t get on the scoresheet, captain Fraser Dingwall and lock Alex Coles were instrumental in Saints’ success and Dowson explained their influence on the result began much earlier in the week.
He said: “After the Leicester game, I had loads of conversations with coaches and players, and Fraser and Alex actually stood up and said they wanted a meeting with the players only.
“They did that and what really came out of that meeting was they wanted to take ownership of it and they wanted to drive it.
“They didn’t want to wait for Radders (Lee Radford), myself, Sam (Vesty) to be pushing from the sideline, and I couldn’t be more proud of those two guys and the rest of the group.”
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