Dowson refuses to use finances as an excuse for Saints' big defeat in France

The black, green and gold had little answer to the physicality of the French giants during the first half, heading in 32-0 down at the break.

They eventually got something going in the final 20 minutes, grabbing a couple of tries of their own, but the game was over long before that as La Rochelle celebrated a 46-12 success.

After the game, Dowson was asked whether the fact La Rochelle are able to spend much more on their squad than Saints was a big factor.

And he said: "It's definitely a reflection in terms of the quality because it's a business and the more money you have, the better the players you can buy.

"I still think we could have done things a lot differently.

"I'm not going to look at salary cap issues, I'm going to talk about our team and how we need to be better in that space."

Saints will host La Rochelle in January, and fans of the black, green and gold will fear a repeat performance.

So how exactly can Saints live with such a powerful side?

"You have to limit the opportunities they get to put you under pressure," Dowson said.

"We probably could have put the ball in behind them a little bit more, played a bit more territory rather than running into two-man shots. It's something we've spoken about and it's something they did very well.

"Sometimes, if you're not as big you have to defend that with speed or guile and at times we did have both of those, and at times we didn't.

"Physicality is always an element, it always has been in France and it's not a surprise to us.

"Sometimes it is hard to handle."

Saints' next big test comes in the form of Munster, who will travel to cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on Sunday.

And Dowson said: "They're all big tests and what I've said in the changing room is that we want those big tests.

"Although it didn't come good for us on Saturday, we'll start again on Tuesday, make sure we prepare properly and we get ready to perform on Sunday to get stuck into Munster.

"Again, that's going to be physical, that's going to be full on - that's the whole point of playing in the Champions Cup, to challenge ourselves against the best in other leagues and to hopefully prove we can be the best in England."