'So much for us to learn' - Dowson reacts to Saints' cup 'hiding' at Saracens

The youthful black, green and gold side had produced a valiant first-half performance, taking a 28-19 lead into the break, bagging a try bonus point in the process.

They had defended strongly at times and produced some patient and sharp attacking play, but things unravalled badly after the break as Saracens mounted a stunning second-half comeback.

The home side racked up an eye-watering 77 points in the second 40 minutes to secure a season-opening victory at StoneX Stadium.

And when asked for his assessment of the Saints performance, boss Dowson said: "I thought we were very good in the first half, really got stuck into it and I was very pleased with that because a lot of things we trained and practiced we saw in that first half.

"The first 10 minutes after half-time were ugly. We conceded four in that period of time so there's no lack of quality in the playing group and how we've trained but it's about that consistency and ability to deal with it when the intensity goes up.

"There's so much for us to learn there and take from it as a first hit-out, and certainly as a coaching group we'll sit and look at that very carefully to make sure this young group of players will be better for it.”

When asked what he will tell his players after the defeat, Dowson said: "You say congratulations for your first-half effort and then you say the game isn't anything different to that but it has to be consistent.

"You have to continue to do those things otherwise you get punished - and you get punished heavily.

"We've been punished heavily in the second half and we've taken a hiding. Sometimes you have those and sometimes they're really healthy.

"Sometimes they put your feet back on the floor, they tell you where you're at and it's something you can work from."

Dowson added: "I'm disappointed.

"We still see this as a pre-season element and it's an important experience for these players to have from a technical point of view and from an emotional point of view.

"We don't want to come here and get a hiding and get embarrassed so we've got to make sure we do our damnedest to make sure it doesn't happen again."

England Under-20s ace Hugh Shields started at fly-half as he made his debut for Saints against a Saracens side that included several seasoned Gallagher PREM performers.

And Dowson said: "I thought he was excellent, as were a lot of players who really stepped up.

"For someone at 18 to go into that position and go up against Max Malins and some other experienced Sarries players, I was delighted for him.

"There were loads of other players who did likewise and were excellent."

Saints will now prepare for another cup clash, at Harlequins next Saturday.

And when asked whether some senior stars will return for that trip to the Twickenham Stoop, Dowson said: "We'll work that out as we go along.

"We've got to make sure we get the minutes right to stay as fresh as possible for as long as possible.

"Tournaments aren't won in game one of pre-season and we've got to make sure we treat it appropriately and we get people the right amount of game time."