Director of Rugby Phil Dowson is calling on his Northampton Saints squad to provide a reaction when they face Saracens on Friday night following a first defeat in 11 games last time out.
The men in Black, Green and Gold tasted a loss for the first time since November as Bristol Bears raced to a 52-21 victory at Ashton Gate upon the Gallagher Premiership’s return after a two-month break.
Saints remain top of the pile entering Round 14 with a big crowd expected at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens under the Friday night lights, knowing a tenth league win of the 2023/24 campaign will move them a step closer to securing place in the end-of-season play-offs for the fourth time in six seasons.
“You analyse it, you learn from it and you apply those lessons in your next opportunity,” said Dowson on how he planned to get over the Bristol loss. “We have got to make sure there’s a reaction to Saracens and from a coaching point of view, we try and work out why we didn’t have the intensity that we needed.
“The players wouldn’t be where they are today if they didn’t care deeply about what we are trying to do. This group is emotionally invested in what we are trying to do, we had a bad day Friday.
“There’s loads of different things we could look at and we need to make sure our response is measured but at the same time, obvious.”
Phil Dowson, Northampton Saints Director of Rugby
Saints defeated Saracens 18-12 in December’s reverse fixture at the StoneX Stadium, but the London side head into Friday night’s return match off the back of a resounding 52-7 victory over Harlequins in front of a big crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“They were very good, they played extremely well,” added Dowson. “That setting, in a great stadium, for [Owen] Farrell’s 250th, everything fell into place for them and they came out with the sort of intensity, both in defence and attack, that we aspire to. They showed what they are capable of. They have got a lot of very good players, who are playing very well, it was impressive.
“I think any game is a good game to get back on track. Having the champions turn up at our house it probably is a good one to get in, but whatever the game would’ve been this week, we would’ve been fired up for it to try and put the disappointment of last week behind us.”
The power is ridiculous 🤯
— Northampton Saints 😇 (@SaintsRugby) March 23, 2024
A difficult night in Bristol, but @olliesleights still shone through. pic.twitter.com/eEMIZYYtDw
Saracens winger Alex Lewington moved to seven Premiership tries for the season with an effort against Quins, but he still trails the division’s leading tryscorer Ollie Sleightholme, who took his tally to nine from as many games this term with a brace against Bristol.
“Ollie is a very good athlete,” said Dowson. “He is strong, he is fast but also from a personality point of view he is hugely competitive, he is tough, he is physical and I think you saw all of those things in the way he plays.
“I think in the last couple of seasons he has been unfortunate with a lot of small, annoying injuries, which has stopped him from playing week in, week out. Like every other player in the world, by the way, the more he plays, the better he gets.
“With the players he has got around him, with Sam’s coaching and the rest of the coaches pushing him forward, he is in a very good situation and is someone we are really excited about.”
