Selection decisions paying off for Saints boss Dowson

It wasn't something he was used to, having become a first-team fixture at Saints.

So determined were the coaches to pick him back in the day that he currently holds the record for most consecutive appearances in Premiership history.

But times are changing and it is clear the management team at Saints are changing with them.

Because current boss Phil Dowson has made a point of not playing players into the ground this season.

Dowson has been flexible with his selection, refusing to fear leaving key men on the bench or even out of the matchday squad completely.

And his decisions have been paying dividends.

His management of players has kept them fresh and hungry, something Waller showed emphatically last Friday during his cameo off the bench against Exeter.

Having been given a total breather against Bristol six days earlier, Waller entered the action and displayed the full benefit of his freshness.

The prop competed hard at the breakdown, helping Saints to claim key turnovers, and at scrum time he certainly had a say.

Alex Mitchell also made a big impression from the bench as his energy and vigour caused Exeter problems, to the point where he set up the winning try for Tommy Freeman.

Saints have refused to rush players back from injury and they have refused to push them to the point where they get injured.

They kept Lewis Ludlam and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto on the bench against Newcastle and brought them on in the second half to help them finish the job.

They left out Aaron Hinkley at Bath before bringing him back for what was pretty much a man of the match showing against Bristol Bears.

And they had Ehren Painter working his way back to full fitness at Bedford Blues before he came back for his first Premiership start of the season and took Exeter to task last Friday.

Dowson and his coaching staff have so far got a lot of the selection decisions right.

And the Saints boss said: "One of the things Sam (Vesty) and I discussed at the start of the year was trusting the squad, and making sure we didn't just run people into the ground.

"In an ideal world we'd probably have more consistency but with injuries and midweek games and stuff like that, it's been impossible.

"We've been really happy with the strength in depth we've got and it's great to sit in selection meetings and there's such a dilemma. and so many different opinions.

"We're in a very fortunate position with that strength in depth, and long may it remain so."

Dowson, who played for Saints between 2009 and 2015, was part of a black, green and gold side that went all the way to the Heineken Cup final in 2011.

Back then, Saints would use pretty much the same players most weeks, and it worked to the point where they won the Anglo-Welsh Cup, reached the Premiership play-off semi-finals and that European showpiece during a memorable campaign.

However, they did run out of steam a little at the end, losing a bruising Premiership knock-out game at Leicester before surrendering a 22-6 half-time lead against Leinster in the Heineken Cup final in Cardiff.

The game has clearly become even more physically punishing since then, and that is something Dowson is very much aware of.

"The game has changed," Dowson said.

"Mike Haywood reminds me on a daily basis that I wouldn't make it in the game currently with the speed of it and the power of it and the collisions within it.

"Selections have changed because the game's changed, but I also think in terms of the performance department with Tommy Bullough, in terms of how we get the most out of people, that's changed as well.

"Everyone playing 30 games a year and playing every week isn't feasible so we have to be mindful of player load, minutes played, collisions and contact and all of those things to make sure we get the most out of them not just for this season but for the seasons moving forward as well."