Phil Dowson is already firmly focused on improving Northampton Saints’ fortunes during the 2023/24 season, after the men in Black, Green and Gold saw their Gallagher Premiership title challenge ended on Saturday.
Northampton went down 38-15 at Saracens in the competition’s semi-finals, the second season running they have fallen at the penultimate hurdle, with the visit to the league’s top-ranked side proving a step too far.
Dowson’s side had a mountain to climb after slipping 21-3 behind at the interval, and despite a rally early in the second half when Alex Mitchell and James Ramm both crossed for tries, a penalty try for Saracens and yellow card for Tom James with ten minutes remaining effectively killed off the contest.
Saints’ Director of Rugby admits his side were second best on the day, and revealed that the level of consistency Saracens have shown throughout the season is something Northampton need to try to emulate next term.
“Clearly, we’re very disappointed and frustrated in the performance,” he said. “In the first half, we didn’t get our game on the pitch.
“We were very one-out, running into two-man tackles. The ball became slow and we didn’t get any of our attack on the game. I thought in patches we defended quite well, but a couple of kick-throughs produced two scores for them and we were sloppy as anything to give away a quick-tap score.
“You give a side of that quality a 21-3 lead, and it’s always going to be a battle. At half-time, we wanted a simplification and to go back to our game, to be brave enough to pull the trigger on a couple of things.
“There were some bits we were pleased with in the second half, but it was too little, too late.
“Saracens are always a very good side, and their level of consistency is something we need to learn from and aim to instil in our game. We weren’t good enough for long enough periods.”
Phil Dowson
Dowson refused to criticise the officials after the game, particularly in light of an early decision to keep Sean Maitland on the field during the formative stages of the match after a questionable clash with Saints fullback George Furbank.
He said: “Nothing was given and I presume that the TMO had looked at it and [referee] Karl [Dickson] had seen it – it was still 15 vs 15, so we need to be better at not conceding tries, which has been an issue throughout the season.”
That’s a wrap for 2022/23.
— Northampton Saints 😇 (@SaintsRugby) May 13, 2023
For all that have supported us – at the Gardens, on the road, overseas, and from home – thank you 🙏
We’ll be back giving it our all and playing the Saints’ way again next season.
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After his first season leading Northampton Saints as Director of Rugby, Dowson insists semi-final appearances are no longer good enough for his side, with the men in Black, Green and Gold harbouring loftier ambitions for the years ahead.
The 41-year-old coach is already looking ahead to preseason and the 2023/24 campaign, and aiming to make Saints stronger than ever.
He added: “We’re not just here to play entertaining rugby, or give some of the best sides a bit of a scare at various points of matches; we’re here to beat them.
“So, it wasn’t a good enough performance this season. That rests with the coaching group, with me particularly, and we have got to be better next year.
“Reaching the semi-finals was of course a target at the start of the season, and I’ve not had a chance yet to review everything, but we wanted more than this at the end of the campaign.
“The review will come over the weeks ahead. The players will take a break, and so will the coaching group, but we need to start preparing for next year and thinking about how we can be better and stronger.”