With the 2025/26 season fast approaching, Phil Dowson took his Northampton Saints squad north as their preseason training reached the halfway point – sending the men in Black, Green and Gold to visit Hull, the hometown of coach Lee Radford.
A former rugby league player, Radford’s playing career spanned 17 years and saw him make 158 appearances for Bradford Bulls inbetween two spells at hometown club Hull FC (where he played 193 matches in total), as well as earning five international caps for England.
And Saints’ trip to Hull tapped into Radford rugby league roots, as the men in Black, Green and Gold took part in a training session with Castleford Tigers – as well as stopping off at rugby union and Champ side Doncaster Knights on their return to Northampton.
On the trip to Hull, Radford said: “With a lot of new blokes coming in and a lot of young faces being promoted from the Academy, Dows [Phil Dowson] wanted to get away and get on a trip where we were in each other’s pockets for a few days. Somehow Hull got tossed up as a location and I got made the squad’s chaperone.
“It was 15 minutes away from where I live but I was more fatigued that week than I am now that I’m back travelling for training.
“We did some things we normally wouldn’t do. We had a joint training session with Castleford Tigers, led by both coaching teams, so we got to show our big boys what it's like to get back onside 10 metres.
“They applied themselves really well and then on the Thursday coming back down to Northampton, we had a session against Doncaster as well.
“It was great for us because it was the first time we’ve been able to train with 15 against 15 this preseason due to lack of numbers, so it was good, and we’ll be better for that.”
Lee Radford, Saints Coach
“Away from the rugby, we also went to my restaurant – The Lodge – we had a feed, we had a round of golf, and a night around Beverley so it was good.
“Coming from rugby league, our preseasons were notoriously in November and December, in the really poor months weather-wise so we always would go abroad for that reason.
“But our preseasons here are in the summer so we're not chasing the heat as much. We swapped the Costa del Sol for Hull.”
Saints rounded out a trio of training sessions against external opposition this week as they ran out alongside Bedford Blues at Goldington Road, and will then take a week’s rest after completing the Blakiston Challenge this Friday.
On their return, Northampton will begin their final preparations ahead of their preseason matches – where they face Bedford (5 September) and Glasgow Warriors (12 September) – before the 2025/26 campaign gets underway in earnest with a PREM Rugby Cup trip to Saracens (19 September).
Saints are still to welcome back their international stars, with the likes of Alex Coles, Trevor Davison, Curtis Langdon, Alex Mitchell, Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman all still to return from their rest following tours with England and the British & Irish Lions over the summer.
“We've still got a heap of players missing,” Radford added. “All the international boys are still away, and we start getting them filtering in over the next few weeks.
“We’re very young as a group together at the moment so it’s just about nailing down the fundamentals of what our skillsets are and that's been really important for them.
“We had several lads come up from the Academy programme this season, so we’ve been trying to get them physically ready and teach them the ABCs of the game, which is going to put them in a better place.
“When the international players come back, our training levels are naturally going to get higher, and the sessions are going to get quicker, so getting the other lads up to speed is where we’re at right now.”
Next Home Match
