Alex Coles has taken ‘another step’ in his career this season, according to Director of Rugby Phil Dowson, following the Northampton Saints lock’s sensational hat-trick against Harlequins.
The 26-year-old struck in the 19th, 51st and final minute of Saints’ record-breaking 66-21 victory over their London visitors to a sold-out cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday evening.
His treble takes the England second row to a career-best return of six tries so far this season after just nine games, and he has struck nine times in his last 14 games in Black, Green and Gold.
“The second half of last season, through that European campaign, I thought Alex Coles was outstanding,” said Dowson. “I thought he was great on the summer tour to Argentina and got a lot of confidence from that, and this season again he has taken another step.
“Put those two things together, you have got a really good player.”
Coles – a product of the Club’s Academy – signed a contract extension for his boyhood team in November 2025 and appeared in all four of England’s Autumn Nations Series fixtures, moving him to 14 Test caps.
Dowson believes the towering forward’s approach off the field is key to his performances on the pitch.
“I listened to the podcast he did with [James] Haskell and Alex Payne. Our sports psych [Oli Dixon] said he had spoken really well about his preparation for the game,” explained Dowson.
“His professionalism and his attitude, the way he leads in our environment, has been exceptional, and I think you see that in his performances. I can’t speak highly enough of him as a person.”
Coles was named Player-of-the-Match as Saints surged back to the top of the Gallagher PREM, with Edoardo Todaro (2), Danilo Fischetti (2), Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman also getting on the scoresheet.
The latest bonus-point win means Saints have taken a maximum haul of 15 points from their league games against Sale Sharks, Bath and Harlequins that fell between the two Investec Champions Cup blocks – despite George Hendy being the only player to start all three games, with Dowson selecting 35 different players for matchday squads across that period.
Dowson pointed towards foundations laid at the end of the 2024/25 campaign that have helped strengthen the squad as a key contributor to Saints’ strong start to the current season.
He explained: “The opportunity we gave to players at Gloucester and Exeter away towards the back end of last season has created some depth.
“Some of the experiences where we got soundly beaten at home to Leicester after the Six Nations, the first half against Gloucester after the autumn; they were bitter experiences for us, and we have taken as much from them as possible.
“I think that has bled through into this season in terms of what we went after from preseason onwards.”