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Northampton is hardly the most tropical spot on the planet, but its club offers plenty of thrills and drama.

In a city famous for shoe production, you would think boot work to be the Saints’ modus operandi. However under head coach Phil Dowson, the team in the club's hues choose to keep ball in hand.

Although embodying a quintessentially English location, they exhibit a flair typical of the finest French practitioners of expansive play.

Since Dowson and his colleague Sam Vesty stepped up in 2022, the Saints have claimed victory in the Premiership and progressed well in the Champions Cup – losing to a French side in last season’s final and eliminated by Leinster in a last-four clash before that.

They currently top the competition ladder after a series of victories and one tie and head to Bristol on the weekend as the just one without a loss, aiming for a first win at their opponent's ground since 2021.

It would be expected to think Dowson, who participated in 262 top-flight matches for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester altogether, consistently aimed to be a trainer.

“When I played, I hadn't given it much thought,” he remarks. “However as you get older, you realise how much you love the rugby, and what the real world looks like. I had a stint at Metro Bank doing work experience. You travel to work a several occasions, and it was difficult – you realise what you do and don’t have.”

Conversations with former mentors resulted in a position at Northampton. Move forward a decade and Dowson leads a roster ever more crammed with internationals: prominent figures started for the national side versus the All Blacks two weeks ago.

The young flanker also had a major effect from the replacements in England’s flawless campaign while the number ten, in time, will assume the pivotal position.

Is the development of this remarkable cohort because of the Saints’ culture, or is it chance?

“It is a combination of the two,” states Dowson. “My thanks go to Chris Boyd, who gave them opportunities, and we had difficult periods. But the experience they had as a unit is definitely one of the factors they are so tight and so skilled.”

Dowson also mentions his predecessor, an earlier coach at Franklin’s Gardens, as a key figure. “I was lucky to be guided by really interesting people,” he says. “Mallinder had a major effect on my professional journey, my training methods, how I interact with others.”

The team play entertaining football, which proved literally true in the example of the French fly-half. The import was involved with the Clermont XV defeated in the Champions Cup in the spring when Tommy Freeman registered a three tries. He was impressed enough to go against the flow of British stars heading across the Channel.

“An associate rang me and said: ‘We know of a fly-half from France who’s looking for a side,’” Dowson explains. “I replied: ‘There's no funds for a imported playmaker. Another target will have to wait.’

‘He’s looking for new challenges, for the chance to test himself,’ my mate informed me. That interested me. We spoke to him and his language skills was outstanding, he was eloquent, he had a sense of humour.

“We questioned: ‘What are your goals from this?’ He answered to be trained, to be pushed, to be outside his comfort zone and away from the domestic competition. I was saying: ‘Welcome aboard, you’re a legend of a man.’ And he has been. We’re lucky to have him.”

Dowson comments the 20-year-old the flanker provides a unique enthusiasm. Has he encountered a player comparable? “Not really,” Dowson replies. “All players are individual but Henry is different and unique in numerous aspects. He’s fearless to be who he is.”

His sensational score against Leinster previously showcased his freakish talent, but various his animated on-field behavior have brought allegations of arrogance.

“At times comes across as arrogant in his conduct, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson clarifies. “Furthermore Pollock is not joking around the whole time. Game-wise he has contributions – he’s not a clown. I think at times it’s depicted that he’s merely a joker. But he’s bright and good fun within the team.”

Hardly any directors of rugby would describe themselves as sharing a close bond with a colleague, but that is how Dowson characterizes his partnership with his co-coach.

“Sam and I possess an inquisitiveness about different things,” he notes. “We have a reading group. He desires to explore all aspects, aims to learn everything, aims to encounter new experiences, and I feel like I’m the same.

“We talk about many subjects away from the game: cinema, literature, thoughts, art. When we met Stade [Français] last year, Notre-Dame was being done up, so we had a quick look.”

Another fixture in Gall is approaching: Northampton’s return with the English competition will be brief because the Champions Cup takes over soon. Their next opponents, in the vicinity of the Pyrenees, are the initial challenge on Sunday week before the South African team arrive at the following weekend.

“I’m not going to be arrogant sufficiently to {