Phil Dowson rued an error-strewn first half, and a series of missed opportunities after half-time, as his Northampton Saints side were defeated 17-25 by Gloucester Rugby in Round 7 of the Gallagher Premiership.
It was the first time that the men in Black, Green and Gold had lost a match on Northampton soil in 14 months, with their home record stretching back 18 games in all competitions up until Saturday afternoon.
The losing feeling was not one that Northampton supporters inside cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens had experienced since October 2023, but Dowson insisted he had not forgotten.
“I can remember,” said Dowson. “It was Bristol at home just over 12 months ago.
“It’s a frustrating result for us. We weren’t very good in that first half, we made a lot of errors. We got past three phases once and we scored, but most of the time we were defending in our own 22.
“We couldn’t get ourselves in the game, we couldn’t get anything going. All credit to Gloucester, they got right on top of us, and we gave ourselves too much to do in that second half.”
Phil Dowson
“I think we were much better in the second half, we looked much more like ourselves. But it’s a shame at we can’t get that consistency at the moment across two halves. We could have done enough to win it but we’d already given ourselves too much to do in that first half.
“We didn’t convert some of those opportunities and we need to be much better.”
Saints welcomed back the likes of George Furbank, Ollie Sleightholme and Alex Coles from international duty for the clash, but Saints struggled to find their rhythm against Gloucester despite their returning stars.
“It does have an impact,” Dowson continued. “But the whole point of our coaching is to mitigate that and make sure that we simplify everything to make sure we get everyone on the same page. Clearly, we’ve not done that as a group.
“That’s something we need to consider if we’re going to continue to lose lots of players to international teams. We need to make sure we sort that out and make sure we smooth out that transition back into the Club.”
One positive for Northampton was the return of scrum-half Alex Mitchell – who featured in Black, Green and Gold for the first time this season.
The 27-year-old injected some much-needed pace into Saints’ attack against Gloucester, setting up Juarno Augustus’ second-half try, and Dowson was thrilled to see the scrum-half back in a Saints shirt.
“Alex Mitchell's input was excellent,” Dowson said. “For him to be away for that long and to come back and play so well and have such an impact was great.
“He’s world-class. His speed around the breakdown, his ability to spot gaps and beat people to them. His input and impact was excellent.”
Phil Dowson on Alex Mitchell
“He rode the crest of a wave in the second half because the rest of the group picked themselves up a little bit and created some faster ball for him. He was excellent.”
Northampton’s attentions now quickly turn to the start of the Investec Champions Cup, with French side Castres Olympique making the trip to cinch Stadium on Saturday (7 December, kick-off: 3.15pm).
The men in Black, Green and Gold went unbeaten in the pool stages of last season’s competition, eventually reaching the semi-finals where they fell to Leinster Rugby 20-17 in a historic clash at Croke Park.
The Investec Champions Cup was a competition that breathed life into Saints’ campaign last term and is one Dowson is looking forward to getting back into.
He said: “I’ve actually really enjoyed watching Castres over the last couple of days with the coaching group. They’re a really good side, very physical and exactly the kind of side we need to play to bounce back from the result against Gloucester.
“Europe’s a special tournament. I love it. It gives us some great opportunities; we found out last season that it can give us momentum – it gave us a real kick-start and hopefully that’s the same this season.”
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