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This English town isn't exactly the most tropical location in the world, but its rugby union team provides an abundance of excitement and passion.

In a town famous for footwear manufacturing, you might expect boot work to be the Saints’ modus operandi. But under leader Phil Dowson, the team in their distinctive colors opt to run with the ball.

Although embodying a distinctly UK town, they display a flair associated with the best French practitioners of attacking rugby.

Since Dowson and fellow coach Sam Vesty stepped up in 2022, the Saints have won the English top flight and advanced far in the European competition – losing to their Gallic opponents in the ultimate match and eliminated by Dublin-based club in a semi-final before that.

They currently top the competition ladder after a series of victories and one tie and head to Bristol on matchday as the sole undefeated team, aiming for a maiden victory at Ashton Gate since 2021.

It would be natural to think Dowson, who played 262 elite fixtures for Newcastle, Northampton and Worcester combined, consistently aimed to be a manager.

“As a professional, I hadn't given it much thought,” he remarks. “Yet as you get older, you realise how much you enjoy the rugby, and what the normal employment entails. I had a stint at Metro Bank doing work experience. You travel to work a multiple instances, and it was difficult – you grasp what you have going for you.”

Discussions with former mentors resulted in a position at Northampton. Jump ahead a decade and Dowson guides a squad ever more packed with global stars: key individuals started for the national side against the New Zealand two weeks ago.

The young flanker also had a profound impact off the bench in England’s perfect autumn while the number ten, down the line, will take over the No 10 jersey.

Is the emergence of this exceptional cohort because of the Saints’ culture, or is it fortune?

“It's a bit of both,” states Dowson. “My thanks go to an ex-coach, who thrust them into action, and we had some tough days. But the exposure they had as a unit is certainly one of the factors they are so united and so talented.”

Dowson also namechecks his predecessor, a former boss at Franklin’s Gardens, as a key figure. “I’ve been fortunate to be coached by highly engaging people,” he says. “Mallinder had a big impact on my rugby life, my management style, how I deal with people.”

Saints play attractive rugby, which proved literally true in the example of the French fly-half. The Frenchman was part of the Clermont XV defeated in the continental tournament in the spring when the winger registered a hat-trick. Belleau admired the style sufficiently to buck the pattern of British stars heading across the Channel.

“A mate rang me and said: ‘We've found a French 10 who’s seeking a team,’” Dowson recalls. “I said: ‘We lack the money for a imported playmaker. A different option will have to wait.’

‘He wants experience, for the possibility to challenge himself,’ my friend informed me. That interested me. We spoke to him and his English was excellent, he was articulate, he had a witty personality.

“We questioned: ‘What are you seeking from this?’ He said to be guided, to be challenged, to be in a new environment and outside the Top 14. I was thinking: ‘Welcome aboard, you’re a fantastic individual.’ And he has been. We’re blessed to have him.”

Dowson says the 20-year-old the flanker offers a specific vitality. Has he encountered an individual similar? “Never,” Dowson replies. “Each person is unique but Pollock is distinct and special in multiple respects. He’s unafraid to be who he is.”

Pollock’s spectacular score against the Irish side last season showcased his unusual ability, but a few of his expressive on-field actions have led to claims of cockiness.

“He sometimes seems arrogant in his actions, but he’s not,” Dowson says. “Furthermore he's not joking around the whole time. Tactically he has ideas – he’s no fool. I feel on occasion it’s shown that he’s only a character. But he’s bright and good fun within the team.”

Few coaches would admit to enjoying a tight friendship with a head coach, but that is how Dowson describes his partnership with Sam Vesty.

“Together share an interest regarding different things,” he says. “We run a book club. He aims to discover everything, wants to know each detail, aims to encounter varied activities, and I believe I’m the same.

“We converse on lots of things away from the game: films, reading, thoughts, creativity. When we played Stade [Français] previously, the landmark was being done up, so we had a quick look.”

Another fixture in the French nation is coming up: Northampton’s return with the English competition will be short-lived because the European tournament kicks in next week. Pau, in the shadow of the Pyrenees, are up first on matchday before the Pretoria-based club arrive at the following weekend.

“I won't be overconfident sufficiently to {