No dwelling on former glories as Saints boss Dowson focuses on what's next
A few hours after his new Saints deal was announced, boss Phil Dowson made his way to the weekly media session.
Questions inevitably arrived about the job he has done with the black, green and gold, but he happily batted them off in a fashion Joe Root would be proud of as he understandably opted to focus on the present and the future rather than the past.
"I've learned a lot, I've enjoyed it a lot and I've still got so much more to learn so we'll probably save the reviews until it finishes at some point, which undoubtedly it will, when you call for my head!," said Dowson, laughing.
Despite the joking and the desire not to dwell on what has already been and gone, there is no doubt Dowson should draw plenty of pride from his time as Saints boss.
He took over from Chris Boyd, who had a clear succession plan to promote young English coaches, back in the summer of 2022 and, just two years later, steered Saints to their first Gallagher PREM title since 2014.
He and his talented team of coaches guided the black, green and gold to an Investec Champions Cup semi-final last year and then to the final last season, all while playing some of the best rugby in Europe with a team full of homegrown talent.
It doesn't get much better than that, especially as Saints are far from the biggest spenders in England's top flight.
"What's always worth saying is that it's club wide," said Dowson, determined not to soak up too much personal praise.
"The playing squad we've got, the work Boydy had done from a foundational point of view, the coaching group, the Academy system, it all comes together to create the whole.
"So, again, I wouldn't review it in too much detail, but we want to be pushing on, we want to be better and there will be plenty of time to look back and reflect as and when appropriate."
A feather in the cap of the Saints coaches is that they have built a playing group packed full of talent that is clearly committed to the Northampton cause.
Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Alex Coles and Fraser Dingwall have all put pen to paper on new contracts already this season.
"It's huge and it shows really how connected that group of players are - that they want to stay together and they believe in what we're doing," Dowson said.
"They're such a tight group so them trying to stay together for as long as possible to achieve stuff here is a great sign.
"I'm delighted we can keep hold of as many of those as possible."
And Dowson is also delighted with his coaching team, sharing a close friendship with head coach Sam Vesty - and even a book club!
"As a coaching group we're very, very close and working together really well," Dowson said.
"One of the joys of what we have at the moment is how tight the playing group is and also how tight the coaching group is – and the way those two groups interact has been very positive. It's undoubtedly a reason why we've had some good performances.
"Off the field, on the field, we're pretty tight, and we have a good time."
And the book club?
"It's very dull," Dowson said.
"The current book is Question 7 by Richard Flanagan. Sam gave it to me for my birthday."
Dowson, Vesty and Co will now set about writing the next chapter in the club's European history this season as they bid to go one step further than in the previous campaign, when they just fell short in the final.
Saints started this Champions Cup adventure with a superb bonus-point success at Section Paloise last Sunday and now host a team they know well as they beat the Vodacom Bulls on two occasions in 2024.
"The result (at Section Paloise) was great because since 2000 (when Saints were crowned champions of Europe) I think we'd won eight games in France so it doesn't happen that regularly - it's a tough thing to do," Dowson said.
"To go to Pau, albeit they'd made some changes, they are second in the Top 14, had been unbeaten at home and although it wasn't a vintage performance by any stretch, we played very well in patches.
"It spoke volumes about the group that their expectation was to go and win there because that hasn't always been the case and we've had some bitter experiences at La Rochelle at Racing and other places before we got to this point where we could be competitive."
And now for the Bulls at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday afternoon…
"You look at the numbers and they've got an incredibly strong scrum, they've got a very good pack of forwards so we're expecting it to be as physical as it has been in the past," Dowson said.
"They've got outrageous speed on the outside and they're a very dangerous group so we've got to make sure we're aware of that."