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Northampton isn't exactly the most tropical spot in the world, but its rugby union team provides plenty of romance and adventure.

In a place renowned for footwear manufacturing, you could anticipate punting to be the Northampton's primary strategy. But under head coach Phil Dowson, the squad in green, black and gold opt to run with the ball.

Although representing a quintessentially English town, they showcase a panache associated with the best Gallic exponents of expansive play.

Since Dowson and the head coach Sam Vesty took over in 2022, the Saints have claimed victory in the domestic league and gone deep in the Champions Cup – defeated by Bordeaux-Bègles in the ultimate match and knocked out by Dublin-based club in a semi-final previously.

They currently top the competition ladder after four wins and a draw and head to their West Country rivals on matchday as the just one without a loss, chasing a initial success at their opponent's ground since 2021.

It would be typical to think Dowson, who played 262 top-flight games for multiple clubs in total, had long intended to be a manager.

“As a professional, I never seriously considered it,” he remarks. “Yet as you get older, you realise how much you appreciate the rugby, and what the everyday life is like. I spent some time at a banking firm doing an internship. You travel to work a multiple instances, and it was difficult – you grasp what you do and don’t have.”

Talks with former mentors culminated in a role at Northampton. Fast-forward a decade and Dowson leads a roster increasingly filled with global stars: key individuals started for the Red Rose versus the All Blacks two weeks ago.

Henry Pollock also had a significant influence from the replacements in England’s flawless campaign while the fly-half, in time, will assume the fly-half role.

Is the development of this exceptional group because of the Saints’ culture, or is it luck?

“This is a bit of both,” says Dowson. “My thanks go to Chris Boyd, who thrust them into action, and we had some tough days. But the experience they had as a group is definitely one of the factors they are so united and so talented.”

Dowson also mentions his predecessor, another predecessor at Franklin’s Gardens, as a significant mentor. “I was lucky to be mentored by really interesting personalities,” he says. “Jim had a big impact on my professional journey, my coaching, how I interact with individuals.”

Northampton demonstrate entertaining the game, which proved literally true in the instance of their new signing. The import was part of the Clermont XV overcome in the Champions Cup in the spring when Tommy Freeman scored a triple. Belleau was impressed enough to buck the pattern of English talent heading across the Channel.

“A friend phoned me and stated: ‘We know of a French 10 who’s looking for a club,’” Dowson says. “My response was: ‘There's no funds for a French fly-half. Another target will have to wait.’

‘He wants new challenges, for the possibility to prove his worth,’ my friend informed me. That caught my attention. We had a conversation with him and his English was excellent, he was articulate, he had a sense of humour.

“We questioned: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He responded to be trained, to be driven, to be in a new environment and beyond the French league. I was thinking: ‘Welcome aboard, you’re a fantastic individual.’ And he has been. We’re blessed to have him.”

Dowson states the 20-year-old Pollock brings a unique vitality. Has he encountered anyone comparable? “Not really,” Dowson replies. “All players are original but Pollock is distinct and special in many ways. He’s not afraid to be who he is.”

Pollock’s spectacular try against their opponents in the past campaign illustrated his exceptional skill, but various his demonstrative in-game actions have resulted in claims of cockiness.

“At times comes across as overconfident in his conduct, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson says. “Furthermore he's not taking the piss constantly. Game-wise he has input – he’s no fool. I believe at times it’s portrayed that he’s only a character. But he’s intelligent and good fun to have around.”

Hardly any coaches would admit to having a bromance with a head coach, but that is how Dowson describes his partnership with his co-coach.

“Sam and I share an inquisitiveness regarding different things,” he says. “We run a book club. He aims to discover everything, wants to know everything, wants to experience varied activities, and I feel like I’m the same.

“We discuss lots of subjects outside the sport: cinema, books, ideas, culture. When we played the Parisian club previously, Notre-Dame was being done up, so we had a quick look.”

Another fixture in the French nation is looming: The Saints' comeback with the Prem will be short-lived because the continental event kicks in next week. The French side, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, are up first on Sunday week before the Bulls visit soon after.

“I’m not going to be presumptuous sufficiently to {