A day to savour for Dowson's Saints as they secure another Dublin semi-final

The black, green and gold backed up their big round of 16 win against Clermont Auvergne by beating another Top 14 team in front of a jubilant home crowd.

It means Saints can now look forward to another Dublin semi-final as they travel to face Leinster on the first weekend of May.

And Dowson was delighted with his team's performance against Castres as they put the opposition to the sword after the break.

"In the second half we really turned it on and pulled away," said Dowson, whose side led 20-13 at half-time.

"It was better (than last week) because the pressure's different, Castres had been here before, they knew what to expect and had nothing to fear.

"They had a much-changed side to the one we played back in December (a 38-8 pool-stage win at the Gardens) so there were all sorts of psychological elements that made it a tough week.

"But credit to the players with how they approached it and executed the plan.

"It was one of those days that you really enjoy at the Gardens.

"It was a great performance, a really good atmosphere, all the players doing their jobs and bought in, I'd say that across the squad.

"We've got to make sure we focus now for a short week leading into Newcastle."

George Furbank was back with a bang for Saints as he replaced the injured George Hendy early in the game and went on to shine in a sublime attacking performance.

Furbank had not played since breaking his arm in the win against Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria back in December.

And Dowson said: "We have pre-season games for a reason, to get people built into it, and he's had no pre-season, he's just trained this week so credit to him.

"He had two assists, he scored a try, but he was running on empty and feeling a bit sore so we decided to change him (during the second half)."

Saints were beaten 20-17 by Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final at Croke Park last season.

And Dowson will now put thoughts of that return to Dublin - Saints will face Leinster at the Aviva Stadium this time round - on the back-burner as he puts full focus on Friday's Gallagher Premiership trip to Newcastle Falcons.

"It (the Leinster match) is really exciting," Dowson said. "But we've got Newcastle away and Bristol at home first.

"We want to make sure we take some of this form into the Premiership and make sure we're ready for that.

"We've got to make sure we're excited about the (Dublin) opportunity but that we know what's coming first."