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This English town is hardly the most tropical spot in the world, but its club delivers plenty of thrills and drama.

In a town renowned for footwear manufacturing, you would think boot work to be the Saints’ main approach. Yet under head coach Phil Dowson, the squad in their distinctive colors choose to run with the ball.

Despite embodying a distinctly UK town, they exhibit a flair synonymous with the greatest Gallic masters of champagne rugby.

From the time Dowson and fellow coach Sam Vesty assumed control in 2022, Northampton have claimed victory in the English top flight and gone deep in the continental tournament – beaten by their Gallic opponents in the previous campaign's decider and ousted by Leinster in a penultimate round earlier.

They sit atop the Prem table after four wins and a draw and visit Bristol on matchday as the sole undefeated team, aiming for a initial success at Bristol's home since 2021.

It would be typical to think Dowson, who played 262 premier matches for multiple clubs combined, had long intended to be a manager.

“As a professional, I hadn't given it much thought,” he says. “Yet as you mature, you realise how much you appreciate the game, and what the everyday life looks like. I had a stint at Metro Bank doing an internship. You do the commute a multiple instances, and it was challenging – you grasp what you do and don’t have.”

Talks with former mentors led to a job at the Saints. Fast-forward a decade and Dowson guides a squad ever more crammed with internationals: key individuals started for England facing the New Zealand two weeks ago.

An emerging talent also had a significant influence as a substitute in England’s flawless campaign while Fin Smith, eventually, will inherit the No 10 jersey.

Is the development of this exceptional cohort because of the team's ethos, or is it chance?

“It is a mix of each,” says Dowson. “I’d credit Chris Boyd, who thrust them into action, and we had challenging moments. But the practice they had as a collective is definitely one of the factors they are so united and so gifted.”

Dowson also namechecks his predecessor, an earlier coach at the club's home, as a key figure. “It was my good fortune to be guided by highly engaging personalities,” he says. “He had a major effect on my rugby life, my coaching, how I manage others.”

The team execute appealing the game, which proved literally true in the example of their new signing. The Frenchman was part of the Clermont XV defeated in the European competition in the spring when the winger notched a hat-trick. The player liked what he saw sufficiently to go against the flow of UK players joining Top 14 sides.

“A mate called me and said: ‘There’s a French 10 who’s in search of a team,’” Dowson recalls. “I replied: ‘There's no funds for a overseas star. A different option will have to wait.’

‘He desires new challenges, for the possibility to test himself,’ my friend said. That interested me. We spoke to him and his English was incredible, he was eloquent, he had a witty personality.

“We inquired: ‘What are your goals from this?’ He answered to be coached, to be challenged, to be in a new environment and away from the French league. I was saying: ‘Welcome aboard, you’re a great person.’ And he proved to be. We’re fortunate to have him.”

Dowson comments the young the flanker provides a specific enthusiasm. Does he know anyone like him? “Never,” Dowson replies. “Each person is original but he is distinct and special in numerous aspects. He’s unafraid to be himself.”

The player's spectacular try against Leinster last season demonstrated his freakish ability, but various his demonstrative on-field actions have led to claims of overconfidence.

“He sometimes appears cocky in his conduct, but he’s far from it,” Dowson asserts. “And Henry’s being serious constantly. In terms of strategy he has input – he’s a smart player. I feel sometimes it’s depicted that he’s merely a joker. But he’s clever and good fun within the team.”

Few managers would describe themselves as having a bromance with a colleague, but that is how Dowson frames his partnership with Sam Vesty.

“Sam and I have an inquisitiveness about diverse subjects,” he says. “We maintain a reading group. He wants to see everything, seeks to understand all there is, wants to experience varied activities, and I believe I’m the alike.

“We converse on lots of things outside the game: cinema, books, concepts, culture. When we played the Parisian club previously, the cathedral was being done up, so we had a quick look.”

Another date in the French nation is looming: Northampton’s reacquaintance with the English competition will be brief because the Champions Cup intervenes shortly. The French side, in the vicinity of the mountain range, are the initial challenge on matchday before the Pretoria-based club arrive at the following weekend.

“I won't be presumptuous to the extent to {