'Outrageously good' - Dowson hails four-try Saints star Freeman

Freeman scored three tries in 15 second-half minutes, adding to his first-half score, to turn the game back in the black, green and gold's favour.

Saracens had racked up 26 unanswered points after going 17-0 down, meaning they led 26-17 with 33 minutes of the match remaining.

But Saints refused to be denied as Freeman lit up the sold-out Gardens late on, helping his team earn an enthralling 43-31 win to remain top of the Gallagher PREM with an unbeaten record so far.

And Dowson said: "He was outrageously good.

"I thought he looked incredibly skillful, incredibly powerful and incredibly good.

"We're delighted with him and he's going into the autumn internationals and he'll get the chance to do it on an international stage as well."

Saints had flown out of the blocks, bossing Saracens and refusing to let them out as they notched three tries to seemingly take control.

But the away side, who went into the game sitting second in the table, two points behind Saints, came roaring back, turning the tables on their hosts before Dowson's men got a grip on proceedings again.

"Both sides went for it and it ebbed and flowed and had a little bit of everything in the game," Dowson said.

"It was never going to be perfect but we stuck at it and we were relentless today.

"Regardless of what happened and what the scoreline was, we showed that tenacity that we've been looking for."

When asked about Saracens coming back from 17-0 down to lead, Dowson said: "We're now getting experienced at it! So there was no sense of panic - we know what we're capable of.

"Sam (Vesty) says it all the time, that they're allowed to be good too, they're allowed to have moments where they create stuff because they're packed full of very good players.

"They're going to have moments of momentum – and that momentum shifted heavily in the first half.

"We obviously got another yellow card (for Tom Pearson at the end of the first half) so there's things we can be better at undoubtedly, but the character to deal with that and move on is outstanding."

Saints' moved the ball at lightning speed as they put Saracens in a spin in the second period.

And Dowson said: "It's always been a huge part of our DNA from Jim (Mallinder) and Boydy (Chris Boyd) in the way we want to play the game.

"We want to go as fast as we can because we've got one of the best nines in the world (Alex Mitchell) and a lot of nines behind him who can do similar stuff in terms of getting the ball and getting us moving forward, and that's when defences are on the back foot."