Difficult days set to stand Saints in good stead

During the very difficult February encounters that caused Saints a great deal of angst, it was tough to take the positives.
Phil Dowson has been putting the Saints players through their pacesPhil Dowson has been putting the Saints players through their paces
Phil Dowson has been putting the Saints players through their paces

Seemingly winnable games came and went as Chris Boyd’s team, who had flown so high when securing a sensational win at Lyon in January, came back down to earth.

The slump was finally arrested in the first match of March as Saints held their nerve to deliver a crucial success against Worcester Warriors at Sixways.

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And, of course, what has happened since then has put on-field struggles into perspective as life has got tougher for so many during the months that followed rugby’s enforced shutdown.

But match action is now on the horizon again, bringing some much-needed hope to supporters who had been shorn of it for some time.

And for Saints, while they look forward to their first game back, at home to Wasps at Franklin’s Gardens on August 16, they can also look back with some fondness.

Because although things didn’t always go their way during the formative stages of 2020, there was plenty to take from the events that unfolded.

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Saints may have lost to the likes of London Irish, Bristol Bears and Saracens, but a plethora of players gained from those experiences.

With an injury crisis in the second row, players with little Premiership experience stepped up.

And the likes of Alex Coles and Lewis Bean should be all the better for it when rugby finally returns this month.

“It becomes vital because the schedule is pretty gruelling and we’re going to need to use the whole squad,” said forwards coach Phil Dowson.

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“All that experience, good and bad, during that difficult run will be hugely beneficial.

“Guys have played games and got it out the way and they can now be much more confident going into this next round.

“We had a run of games where the results weren’t brilliant so we need to catch up some of those.

“We need to hit the ground running and from what I’ve seen there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be flying into that first game.”

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Saints can’t wait to get started in what they hope will be pure summer sun.

Even their forwards love to play a fast game, and the harder pitches should really work to their advantage, especially against teams who like to tuck the ball up their collective jumper.

“I hope it (better conditions) does (help Saints) but I’m sure there’s lots of other clubs who are saying that as well,” Dowson said.

“Teams have got brilliant backlines and a lot of players who are skilful and quick so it’s not necessarily a massive advantage for us but it is something we’ve tried to focus on for a period of time now.

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“Hopefully we can get a good headstart on it and sides will be taking weather conditions into account.”

And Dowson added: “It (the sun and harder surfaces) suits some positions more than others but it does suit the way we play.

“With Chris (Boyd) and Sam (Vesty) and the way they want to play, we want to be able to move and get across the ground so it does suit us.

“A lot of the forwards now are pretty athletic and they want to go and play and put their game on the pitch so hopefully it suits us as a team.

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“Also, you hope a couple of the big boys don’t melt too much but with water breaks and things like that, I’m sure they’ll be looked after.”

The Saints coaches have been focusing on personal development during the enforced break from rugby, with boss Boyd setting up calls with several people to deliver extra knowledge.

Dowson explained: “It (self-isolation) gives you time to reflect and with Chris - who from his background in New Zealand was on coaching acceleration courses and coached coaches from other sports - he really enjoys it and has got massive experience in helping other coaches.

“It’s great for someone like myself as well as Sam (Vesty) and Ian (Vass) and Matt Ferguson to have Chris as a resource to lean on and have conversations with during lockdown.

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“That was coupled with conversations with other coaches like John Fletcher and Russell Earnshaw, who set up the Magic Academy to help young kids develop in rugby.

“It was really helpful with the chats we had with other coaches online.

“There was a guy called Mo Bobat, who is the performance director at England Cricket, a really interesting guy, there was a guy who is head of creativity at Google UK and we just got to sit down with those guys to see how they do it.

“There were loads of different aspects and chats during that time off so we could take a lot from it.

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“We also spoke to the Melbourne Rebels coaching staff to see how they are doing it over there.

“We had really good exposure to other coaches, not only in rugby but also in other sports and guys who work in business.

“Chris is very good at setting things like that up so we can get different ideas and learn more about how we do things.”

So can the Saints players expect different approaches to training in the weeks and months to come?

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“There won’t be anything drastic, but so much of a coaching element comes down to the relationship you have with the group so you can get to know how they work and what they’re interested in and what they think is important,” Dowson said.

“The interesting one in terms of thinking creatively in terms of training and getting messages across was that we don’t want long meetings in small rooms looking at videos.

“We need to get information to players when they’re at home and we need to use technology more effectively.

“It was really interesting in how we could take lessons from business as well as other sports.”

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And Saints will hope the lessons they have learned as a playing and coaching group can stand them in good stead for rugby’s imminent resumption.

They are now in Stage 2 training at the Gardens as they gear up for that game against Wasps.

The black, green and gold currently sit fourth in the Gallagher Premiership standings with seven wins from their 13 fixtures.

And with nine rounds to go, Dowson said: “It’s beginning to get a bit more serious in training now.

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“The players have been outstanding in terms of how they’ve approached it.

“The strength and conditioning department worked brilliantly during lockdown and to a man, the lads have come back in really good nick.

“We wanted to get straight back into some more technical aspects rather than having to get players back up to speed physically and we’ve been able to do that because they’ve come back in good shape.

“All the support staff have put together such a great working system. Matt Lee and his team and Tommy Bullough have been outstanding.

“It’s really exciting that the games are close to starting now.”

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