Director of Rugby Phil Dowson knows his Northampton Saints side must take the disappointment of their two opening losses in this term’s PREM Rugby Cup and translate that into swift learnings if they are to hit the ground running in their league title defence.
Saints had held a narrow lead at half-time at Twickenham Stoop – thanks to tries from Tom Pearson and Toby Thame – but failed to score a point in the game’s second forty minutes despite getting close on two occasions.
And their hosts had made their errors pay, crossing five times themselves in the match while denying Northampton’s second-half efforts, to take home the spoils in Round 2 and bring the first block of Cup matches to a close.
“The overriding feeling would be frustration,” Dowson said after Saints’ 29-14 defeat.
“I think we did loads of good stuff, gave ourselves loads of good opportunities but didn’t convert them.
“In the first half, we had some chances where we didn’t put points on the board, and there were two clear opportunities in the second half, one where we knock it on and another where we get held up.
“We were chasing the game a little bit at the end and the score’s probably not really a reflection of where we’re at.
“It could have been a different game, but that’s how it works, particularly away from home, so we’ve got to make sure we take those lessons on board, eat that disappointment very quickly and get onto the next thing.
"But at this stage of the season, we’re learning a lot about this group of players and trying to install things from a technical point of view and a cultural point of view.
"There was loads to take from this game.”
The Cup competition has allowed Dowson and Saints’ coaches the chance to see their wider squad at work, blooding some ten new players across the two matches played so far.
Prop duo Jordan Els and Aiden Reid were the Club’s newest debutants, with short-term loanee Els facing off with his former side Quins in Round 2 while Reid – a graduate of Saints’ Academy and former Northampton School for Boys pupil – entered the fray in the second half at the age of just 18.
Of the two new Saints, Dowson said: “There were loads of people who impressed in that game.
“Jordan Els, who was at Quins, was making his debut for us. It was a big ask because he hadn’t played for a while but I thought he was excellent, winning scrum penalties.
“Likewise Aiden Reid, coming on on debut, a young man who has been very impressive in preseason to get his opportunity.”
While results in Saints’ opening two matches of the season have not gone their way, Dowson has used the Cup to provide valuable minutes to his squad as they build towards their title defence campaign in the Gallagher PREM.
And that’s a trend set to continue next week, when a number of Northampton’s international stars are set to return to action as they host Black Lion in a friendly fixture, ahead of their first league outing on Friday 25 September, when Newcastle Red Bulls visit Franklin’s Gardens.
“I see tonnes of progress in a young playing group who are desperate to perform,” Dowson reflected on the opening two weekends.
“I see tonnes of progress around what we’re trying to get into for this season. I am frustrated because we don’t like conceding and we don’t like losing.
“But the people who take it the worst are the playing group so we’ve got to make sure we pick them up, take what we can out of it and we push on.”