Dowson praises 'lifeblood' Academy after RC Toulon victory

Director of rugby Phil Dowson heaped praise on Northampton Saints Academy as homegrown players played a pivotal role in the gripping Investec Champions Cup victory over RC Toulon.

George Furbank grabbed two tries and Courtney Lawes was once more named man-of-the-match by TNT Sports while the next generation of homegrown talent had a huge say in the 22-19 victory.

Tommy Freeman (aged 22), provided an assist, George Hendy had a key role in Saints’ first try, Tom Litchfield was deployed across the backline as the home side suffered a glut of injuries while a third 21-year-old homegrown talent, Tom Lockett, scored the match-winning try in the closing minutes.

“Those guys have matured brilliantly,” said Dowson. “The work the academy do with Mark Hopley, I think that is the lifeblood of this Club in terms of bringing those sorts of players through and to perform week in, week out on the very biggest stage at the highest level.”

The moment of the match that raised the roof at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens was Lockett’s late score which was just his second try for the Club as he cleverly spotted an unmarked corner of the pitch for another Academy graduate, Alex Mitchell, to deliver the assist.

“I was was slightly concerned that his size 15s would go into touch,” smiled Dowson. “That’s the beautiful thing. He makes his [Champions Cup] debut in a big win [against Glasgow]. He told me after the game that in the last two minutes, when from a coaching point of view we could’ve done something slightly differently, he thought that they could still win the game so he was panicked and stressed when everyone else was pretty relaxed!

Saints took a seven-point lead in at the break through a Tom Seabrook try and Furbank’s first of the evening. Toulon struck first after the break through Melvyn Jaminet which was countered by Furbank’s second. However, a score from David Ribbans against his former club and a blockbuster dropgoal from Jaminet looked set to inflict defeat on the men in Black, Green and Gold.

Despite suffering injuries to three wingers across the encounter and with players out of position, Saints stayed in the game and their attacking intent forced Toulon to concede two yellow cards that culminated in a Lockett’s late score.

 “I thought it spoke volumes as to how connected they are and how committed to each other and what a tight group they are,” added Dowson on the manner of the win.

“I think in the second half, [it was] similar to last week in many ways. We lost momentum, that’s clearly something we’re going to have to catch hold of. The resilience, the grit, whatever word you want to use to describe it, to come back, to keep going, to create opportunities that lead to ill discipline and that gives us the opportunity.

“Credit to the guys coming off the bench. TJ [Tom James] playing out of position, Tom Lockett coming on, all the guys had an impact and made a difference.”

There was also special praise for Sam Graham who overcame an injury that forced his early withdrawal against Glasgow to play a formidable role in the Friday night success.

Dowson said: “The ability for him to come back and have a stand-out performance like that, after having not done tonnes of training in the week with his hip injury, speaks volumes about his application throughout the last two years. 

“You could tell when you meet him for the first time, when he came in and we had a chat around recruitment, he wanted to get better, he was desperate. You can see that in the way he plays and how much better he’s got in the last two years. They’re the players we’re looking for.”