Dickinson looking forward to Dowson reunion in Saints’ clash with Worcester

Sam Dickinson (right) is looking forward to facing former Saints team-mate Phil Dowson on Friday night (picture: Linda Dawson)

The big No.8 is likely to be in the squad for the trip to face newly-promoted Worcester Warriors.

And lying in wait in the Aviva Premiership opener will be the familiar face of Phil Dowson, along with another ex-Northampton player, GJ van Velze.

Dickinson says Dowson had a big impact on him during the 34-year-old’s time at Franklin’s Gardens, which came to an end during the summer.

And he said: “It’s always fun to play against people you know and there’ll probably be a few personal battles out there.

“Hopefully it’ll just be good fun and that there will be a bit of craic between the two teams – I’m sure Dows will be the source of that. It will be interesting to see what happens.

“Dows brought a lot of experience and he brought a lot of passion with him and leadership as well.

“I think he was someone a lot of the boys looked up to. He definitely helped me – he put his arm around me when I arrived and made sure I knew what I was doing.

“He’ll be missed in those respects and he’ll definitely be an addition to the Worcester team, though hopefully not too much.”