Northampton Saints’ ‘character and guile’ to salvage a try-scoring bonus point from their Investec Champions Cup loss to Bordeaux Begles was a source of pride for Director of Rugby Phil Dowson.
With 20 minutes remaining at Stade Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Saints trailed by 36 points and were destined to return home to Northampton empty-handed.
But two tries in five minutes from Danilo Fischetti and a second of the match from Henry Pollock closed the final score to 50-28 and ensured Saints still have a chance of finishing in the top two of Pool 4 heading into the final round this weekend, when Scarlets visit cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens – tickets are available by clicking HERE.
“I am immensely proud of the effort we gave, we got 28 points, and we showed some attacking guile, and we got a bonus point, that was credit to them,” said Dowson.
“The biggest thing from our point of view is the character we showed in doing that and sticking to our guns and continuing to push against the odds.
Saints’ hopes of avenging last season’s Final defeat were reduced as they conceded four first-half tries and received two yellow cards in the process, as Bordeaux took a 24-7 lead into the interval. Six minutes after the restart, that advantage stretched by a further two converted tries, leaving the visitors needing snookers to get themselves back into the game.
“I think Bordeaux were very good and we have to give them credit,“ added Dowson. “We spent 20 minutes of that first half down to 14 men, and that makes it very difficult, particularly with the quality they have. That was a tough start.
“The set piece was clearly under some pressure. The thing is, we want to be at the top table, we want to be challenged by these teams, because that’s where we are going to learn the most. As disappointed as we are, we will take tonnes out of that.
“It [scrum] gave them a foothold in the game, but that’s not necessarily the whole game; there were lots of times when they counter-attacked off turnover ball where they created opportunities. I don’t think that’s the whole story, obviously, it’s disappointing in the first ten, 15 minutes, to be under that pressure. Credit to the scrum and all the players involved to rectify that and get us back onto a solid footing at set piece.”
While Bordeaux were the victors, the game’s most eye-catching moment came from Pollock – who turns 21 this week – as he pulled in an Anthony Belleau cross-field kick from above his head before chipping ahead, beating Investec Player of the Year 2024/25 Damien Penaud to the ball before leaping to score the tenth Champions Cup try of his career in just his eleventh outing in the competition.
“He had a few [magical moments] I thought he was very good,“ praised Dowson. “For someone of his age, to be dealing with that sort of pressure from a partisan French crowd, is impressive. It speaks volumes about him and the group supporting him about how we want to be playing in this cauldrons and enjoying it.
“Nobody boos rubbish players. Nobody boos somebody they don’t actually respect. He has caught the imagination and the media have really pushed that, and that’s great, but I think you’ve also got to credit his ability to play the game.”
On Saints’ travelling support, Dowson said: “We’ve had fantastic support as ever. It is a great place to visit and we’ve had a great time, looking around and enjoying the city and hopefully they have too, despite the result.”