'It got a bit ragged' - Dowson reacts to Saints' defeat at Leicester Tigers

The black, green and gold dominated for long periods during the first half and took the lead thanks to two JJ van der Mescht tries as well as a conversion and drop goal from George Furbank.

But Tigers took their chances when they came, moving into a 19-15 lead by half-time and then kicking on in the second period to secure a bonus-point success.

Saints' only points after the interval came from a last-gasp effort from young loosehead prop Oliver Scola, who scored his first senior try.

Dowson said: "First half, I thought we were excellent, but there were three really soft scores, particularly one before half-time.

"It was disappointing to go in at half-time 19-15 down when I thought we had been really dominant.

"In the second half, with various injuries and people we're trying to manage, it got a bit ragged.

"There was no lack of intent and effort, but maybe a lack of some nous and some streetwise in there.

"The changes made a difference but also credit to Leicester who came out in the second half. They didn't score until the 58th minute so it was pretty nip and tuck early in that second half and then a few changes, with Chunya (Munga) going off, meant we were a bit short up front.

"It was frustrating, we'll get better, we're back into the league now and we'll have taken a lot out of it for this young group in the PRC."

On Scola, Dowson said: "Ollie has probably been most improved in the off-season into this season.

"We'd seen some of his physical potential but Jaco (Pienaar) has put his arm round him and got the absolute most out of him.

"His scrummaging has been excellent, he's been great in training so for him to be rewarded with a try at Welford Road is excellent and there's still plenty to come from him."

Saints were hit by a couple of potentially damaging blows during the second half as Munga and George Hendy were both forced off with head injuries.

Both players were down for some time, and Dowson was frustrated that action wasn't taken after Hendy was hit high during the final 10 minutes of the match.

"I was a bit disappointed the head-shot didn't get seen," Dowson said.

"It was a high tackle and then he got flipped over as well so it was quite a nasty one."

One positive for Saints was the performance of skipper George Furbank, who started at 10 and shone.

Furbank made telling breaks, produced some fine crossfield kicks and also notched a clever drop goal.

And Dowson said: "I thought he was outstanding.

"I felt he literally stood out from the rest of the crowd, from his technical ability to move the ball, pass, kick but also tactically being around the place and throwing himself into contact.

"He looked very, very sharp, putting boys away, making breaks and defending very well."

Saints have now suffered back-to-back PREM Rugby Cup defeats, seeing their unbeaten start to the season come to an end against Newcastle Red Bulls and Leicester.

Now they must regroup as they get ready to return to league action with a tricky trip to Bristol Bears on Saturday evening.

"The PRC is different because we give players opportunity, we put them under pressure and they find out about themselves, at Welford Road," Dowson said.

"We said we were going to squeeze everything out of that game, let's be really brutal in terms of our review, let's really get stuff out of it and let's make sure we go into this Bristol game and we're humming.

"My job is to pick the team I think gives us the best opportunity to win this week, win the next week and in a year's time.

"There's loads of things to bare in mind and also you've got to take into account the headspace of those lads who come out of the England camp and where they're at and what gets the best out of them for the next three months and not just the next three weeks."