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This English town may not be the most exotic spot globally, but its club delivers a great deal of excitement and passion.

In a place renowned for shoe production, you could anticipate kicking to be the Saints’ main approach. Yet under head coach Phil Dowson, the team in green, black and gold opt to keep ball in hand.

Despite representing a distinctly UK community, they display a style associated with the best French masters of expansive play.

From the time Dowson and fellow coach Sam Vesty took over in 2022, the Saints have secured the English top flight and progressed well in the continental tournament – defeated by their Gallic opponents in the previous campaign's decider and eliminated by Dublin-based club in a last-four clash earlier.

They sit atop the Prem table after multiple successes and a single stalemate and visit Ashton Gate on matchday as the only unbeaten side, chasing a first win at Bristol's home since 2021.

It would be natural to think Dowson, who participated in 262 top-flight matches for multiple clubs in total, consistently aimed to be a coach.

“As a professional, I didn't really think about it,” he remarks. “Yet as you mature, you comprehend how much you love the sport, and what the normal employment looks like. I worked briefly at a banking firm doing work experience. You make the journey a multiple instances, and it was tough – you see what you have going for you.”

Conversations with club legends culminated in a position at the Saints. Move forward a decade and Dowson leads a roster increasingly filled with global stars: key individuals started for the Red Rose versus the New Zealand two weeks ago.

The young flanker also had a major effect from the replacements in the national team's flawless campaign while Fin Smith, eventually, will assume the fly-half role.

Is the emergence of this remarkable cohort due to the team's ethos, or is it chance?

“It is a bit of both,” states Dowson. “I’d credit an ex-coach, who thrust them into action, and we had challenging moments. But the exposure they had as a collective is certainly one of the reasons they are so tight and so gifted.”

Dowson also mentions Jim Mallinder, a former boss at the club's home, as a major influence. “It was my good fortune to be coached by really interesting personalities,” he says. “Jim had a big impact on my professional journey, my coaching, how I manage others.”

Saints play attractive rugby, which proved literally true in the case of Anthony Belleau. The Frenchman was a member of the Clermont XV beaten in the European competition in April when Freeman registered a triple. He liked what he saw enough to buck the pattern of British stars moving to France.

“A mate phoned me and remarked: ‘We know of a fly-half from France who’s seeking a side,’” Dowson recalls. “I replied: ‘We don’t have funds for a imported playmaker. Another target will have to wait.’

‘He desires experience, for the opportunity to prove his worth,’ my friend informed me. That intrigued us. We spoke to Belleau and his language skills was excellent, he was eloquent, he had a witty personality.

“We asked: ‘What are your goals from this?’ He responded to be coached, to be pushed, to be outside his comfort zone and away from the Top 14. I was thinking: ‘Come on in, you’re a legend of a man.’ And he has been. We’re fortunate to have him.”

Dowson states the 20-year-old the flanker offers a unique enthusiasm. Has he coached anyone similar? “No,” Dowson responds. “All players are original but he is distinct and special in multiple respects. He’s fearless to be himself.”

His sensational score against Leinster previously illustrated his unusual ability, but various his demonstrative in-game actions have resulted in allegations of cockiness.

“On occasion appears overconfident in his conduct, but he’s far from it,” Dowson clarifies. “Plus Henry’s not joking around all the time. In terms of strategy he has ideas – he’s no fool. I think sometimes it’s depicted that he’s just this idiot. But he’s intelligent and a positive influence in the squad.”

Few directors of rugby would admit to enjoying a tight friendship with a colleague, but that is how Dowson frames his relationship with his co-coach.

“We both have an interest about different things,” he explains. “We maintain a reading group. He aims to discover everything, wants to know everything, desires to try different things, and I believe I’m the same.

“We discuss lots of things away from rugby: cinema, books, ideas, creativity. When we faced the Parisian club last year, the landmark was under renovation, so we had a brief exploration.”

One more fixture in France is looming: The Saints' reacquaintance with the domestic league will be short-lived because the Champions Cup kicks in soon. Pau, in the vicinity of the mountain range, are the initial challenge on the coming weekend before the Pretoria-based club travel to a week later.

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