Northampton Saints need to be ruthless like rivals, says Dowson

Phil Dowson, the forward for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club the Northampton Saints, has laid the gauntlet down for his team mates to follow the hardnosed and never say die attitude of their Premiership rivals Saracens FC and the Leicester Tigers.

This battle cry from the Jimmies forward comes in the wake of the side almost surrendering a 29-0 lead against the London Irish last weekend.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Dowson stated that the team is not as ruthless as one of their title rivals, the Leicester Tigers would have been against the Exiles and they were very close to blowing the huge lead they had amassed due to the lack of it.

Dowson went on to add that teams like Saracens FC and the Leicester Tigers would never do a thing like that and that is something they have also spoken about in team meetings. Dowson claims that the players know they have to be professional and need to be able to push the opposition away.

The Northampton Saints have been going through a rough patch recently, having lost the LV=Cup final against the Exeter Chiefs and suffering three consecutive defeats at in the Premiership as well.

But the signs are there that the dip in form was temporary and they have bounced back with the win over the London club. The 32 year old stated that the side took a beating for some reason. With the England internationals returning from their Six Nations duties, the Northampton Saints failed to gel and the results showed just that.

He admitted it is hard to have a long season without any dips in form but as long as that can be overcome, it is alright and the Jimmies are looking good to mount a fresh challenge for the title.