Northampton Saints’ second-half display to come from behind and defeat Saracens was labelled ‘exceptional’ by director of rugby Phil Dowson.
The men in Black, Green and Gold seemed destined to be signing off their home campaign at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens with a defeat as the visitors build a 7-24 lead with only 20 minutes left to play.
But with the bench emptied, Saints landed 21 unanswered points to secure maximum points to claim a remarkable 28-24 Gallagher Premiership victory.
“I talk about it all the time, it speaks volumes about the group, that we are judged by our actions and our actions in the second half were exceptional,“ said Dowson. “I am immensely proud of the effort they put in to go for it, when there is nothing tangible on the line.
“But there is always something on the line and we said we wanted to pay homage to the lads who are leaving and didn’t get the opportunity to play today. I felt we did that in the second half.
“Other than their try, I didn’t really see them enter our 22 in the second half. Particularly the bench coming on and driving the energy and that level was excellent. It was a great way to finish.”
Phil Dowson, Director of Rugby
After Josh Kemeny had landed the game’s opening points, Saracens went over for four tries and two conversions to pull clear, only for replacement loosehead prop Tarek Haffar to bag a brace of tries either side of a penalty try to confirm Saints’ comeback with the game’s final play.
It was a bittersweet moment for Saints fans as it was the former London Irish forward’s final home match at the Gardens, ahead of his summer departure from the club.
“He is exceptional,” said Dowson. “Sometimes those things happen, we lose exceptional players. But for the next two or three weeks, he is a Saints player and we are going to love him like one.”
The victory means Saints sign off their home league campaign with seven victories from nine games, as well as picking up seven wins from eight further games in the Investec Champions Cup and Premiership Rugby Cup in front of their own supporters.
When asked to reflect on his side‘s home form, Dowson said: ”My initial response is we have been inconsistent, I think in particular the Gloucester and Tigers games here were real blights and real scars on our season.
“But at the same time, every single time that has happened we have responded, we have recovered. I think we are still a very good team, particularly at home, in front of this crowd and at this stadium.
“You can’t coach that [heart]. That is because they are a tight group, they get on with each other and it means something. That is of huge value to any sport.”
