Phil Dowson insists his Northampton Saints side are relishing the challenge of a trip to Bath Rugby this festive period, as the men in Black, Green and Gold travel to the Recreation Ground on Saturday (27 December, kick-off: 5.30pm).
Saints cemented their third-place position in the Gallagher PREM last weekend with a resounding 47-21 victory over Sale Sharks, with the men in Black, Green and Gold running in some seven tries at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
The performance proved to be one of Saints’ most rounded of the season and backed up their recent successes in the Investec Champions Cup – where they secured a 27-35 victory at Section Paloise and an impressive 50-5 win against Vodacom Bulls in the opening rounds.
But despite his side’s current form, Dowson knows there is always room for improvement heading into Round 8 of the PREM.
Dowson said: “We were keen to start quickly [against Sale] and we did that. From a performance point of view, I thought that across the park, in a number of different facets, we were very good.
“But we’re always trying to push. We’re a development club. There’s loads we can get better at as individuals, both coaches and players, but also from a performance point of view – we’re never perfect.
“I can’t commend the squad enough for how they apply themselves day in, day out to do that. It’s a cracking group of lads who will keep pushing and keep pushing to try to find every bit of performance in it.”
The Rec is a place Saints have left without victory in their last three visits, most recently enjoying success in Bath in April 2022 when they wrestled back a 31-12 deficit before an over-time try from Mikey Haywood sealed a dramatic first win there in seven years.
But since then, it has been the home side on the day who have taken home the spoils when Saints and Bath have locked horns, and Dowson will be hoping his side can buck that trend when the PREM’s two most recent champions meet on Saturday.
“In the past, Bath have been renowned for their very strong forward pack,” Dowson commented. “And while they still bring that, now across the whole gamut of the game they’re very, very good.
“Finn Russell and Ben Spencer at half-back, they’re both international quality. They’re got an outrageously good back line and some speed on the width too. They’ve got plenty of different ways to hurt you.
“There is still a power game, but there’s an aerial game too which they’re very good at. So, we’ve got to be on our mettle, and I think that’s what we’re excited about – the opportunity to test ourselves against one of the best sides in the league and also in Europe.”
Third-place Saints sit just three points behind Bath in the PREM table after seven rounds, an omen that bodes well for Northampton given the league’s last 17 champions were all in the play-off spots at Christmas.
But with just ten points separating sixth and first Dowson knows there is plenty of matches to come before we get to knock-out rugby and the play-off contenders are confirmed.
He said: “Only time will tell on that front, it’s still very early days in terms of being in that top two or top four. That’s definitely where we want to be and that’s what we’re aspiring to do but there’s nine other clubs all trying to do the same thing.
“I don’t think it’s a surprise for us to be there, we know exactly how much quality we’ve got in our group. But it’s a very tough competition, the difference between being top and being eighth isn’t huge so we need to stay in the fight.”