Dowson satisfied with Saints’ progress in Premiership Rugby Cup

Director of Rugby Phil Dowson has been impressed by many of his Northampton Saints squad members over the past month during the block of Premiership Rugby Cup matches.

The men in Black, Green and Gold made it three wins from three in this year’s competition courtesy of a hard-earned 19-10 victory in torrid conditions at Coventry.

George Hendy’s solo try plus George Makepeace-Cubitt’s conversion handed Saints a slender 7-5 advantage at the break, with Matt Kvesic crossing for an unconverted score for the hosts.

And while Coventry briefly took the lead after the turnaround via Ryan Hutler’s opportunistic score, Northampton’s power game came to the fore as first Emmanual Iyogun then Curtis Langdon dotted down at the back of a couple of rolling mauls.

Saints now sit top of Pool 2, with Saturday’s triumph at Butts Park Arena backing up home wins over Leicester Tigers and Nottingham, and Dowson is anticipating some selection dilemmas in the build-up to the return of the Gallagher Premiership next weekend.

“Overall, of course I’m pleased with where we are after three matches of the Cup,” he said. “It underlines the value of this tournament big time – particularly with the way our model works, bringing young guys through our system.

“We had a number of guys playing at Bedford against Bath today as well, and this competition allows us to give a lot of guys the opportunity to play more games, which is the best way to improve.

The win over Coventry also saw a number of players return from the treatment table for Saints, with Tom Lockett, Juarno Augustus, James Ramm and Tom James among those in action for the first time since injury lay-offs.

Dowson believes their return will be timely for Saints, with a long stretch of Gallagher Premiership and Investec Champions Cup fixtures ahead, but will be looking for an improvement from his side in a number of areas during training this week.

He said: “I was pleased with the input of all the guys coming back into the team. Tommy Lockett’s been out for a long period, Juarno as well, so it’s invaluable getting those guys some time on the pitch under pressure, getting hit and putting shots in themselves.

“Those were tough conditions, against a really good team who are top of the Championship. It was a tight match for the most part, and we need a second tier that is really flourishing to help the game grow.

“Coventry have a number of classy players who can cause any team problems, and they’re unbeaten in their league with a really shrewd group of coaches as well, so it was a really good challenge for us with the return of the Premiership on the horizon.

“We’re still coming to terms with the new laws around competitive kicking as well, so a few things in there that weren’t up to scratch and we’ll review those properly to make sure we’re better next week.”

Next up for Northampton is a home clash back at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens against Gloucester.

Saints put up a record scoreline the last time the Cherry & Whites came to town, winning 90-0 back in May, but Dowson is expecting a very tough encounter and was quick to warn that George Skivington’s men are a side reborn this season.

“Gloucester have been one of the best attacking sides in the league this year, without a shadow of a doubt,” he added.

“They’ve created more line breaks than any other side, and taken some scalps away from home already, so they’ll be a real handful next weekend.

“So, it’s a different kettle of fish to last year, and it’ll be a huge challenge for us back at home. We’ll make sure we recover well from this game, and prepare ourselves as thoroughly as possible for that.”