Victory over Munster a special occasion for Saints, says Dowson

A ‘special occasion’ was how Phil Dowson reflected upon his side’s Investec Champions Cup victory over Munster that secured Northampton Saints a home knock-out game.

The men in Black, Green and Gold had booked their place in the Round-of-16 with a fixture to spare, but ensured they would return to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens when the competition resumes in April with a thrilling 34-32 home win against Munster on Saturday afternoon.

“We talked a lot about how special Europe is and there's a bit of history with the 2000 Heineken Cup-winning team walking around the pitch at half-time,” said Dowson. “It was one of those special occasions. The Munster fans and the Munster team put everything into that, and that was a proper game.”

Saints went in at the break trailing by three points as tries from Tom Seabrook and Curtis Langdon sandwiched a brace from Munster’s Calvin Nash, with Jack Crowley adding five points from the tee. 

“At half-time, we needed to make sure we played a bit more territory and we managed to exert a bit more pressure,” said Dowson. “In the first half, whenever Munster got into our half, they generally scored, so we managed it better in the second half. Right until the end, it was nip and tuck.”

Saints led by 11 points entering the final third as James Ramm crossed the line and Seabrook got his second of the afternoon. Crowley and Fin Smith traded penalties and Diarmaid Kilgallen’s try cut Saints’ lead to two before Seabrook completed his treble.

There was to be no cruise to the finish line, however, as Kilgallen added a second try to set up a grandstand finish, but Saints secured the win with replacement Henry Pollock burgling a late ruck to end Munster’s late burst for glory.

Dowson reserved special praise for hat-trick hero Seabrook, who opened his try-scoring account for the season having bagged nine in 17 appearances in the 2023/24 campaign.

“Tom deserves that glory,” he said. “He has been waiting patiently for his opportunity, he has been knocking on the door and he has been saying ‘when am I going to get a go’ – that opportunity has come for him.”

For a second season running, Saints march into the Round of 16 with home advantage and have subsequently learned they will host Clermont Auvergne back at the Gardens on the weekend of 3/4/5 April.

Speaking prior to learning their opponents, Dowson added:  “We saw in the Round-of-16 here against Munster last season how important home advantage is.

“At the top table of Europe, home advantage is fairly pivotal so you could see how hard our lads fought and how hard Munster fought as well. It was a really decent game of rugby, and it was about the intensity of the game from minute one to 80.

“There were periods of this season where we weren’t maybe as consistent as we have been, but I thought from zero to 80 here we were on our game and played very well. That consistency throughout the game was the most pleasing for me.”