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This English town is hardly the most glamorous location globally, but its squad offers a great deal of thrills and drama.

In a place renowned for footwear manufacturing, you might expect punting to be the Northampton's modus operandi. But under head coach Phil Dowson, the squad in green, black and gold prefer to run with the ball.

Despite playing for a distinctly UK town, they display a style synonymous with the finest French practitioners of attacking rugby.

From the time Dowson and his colleague Sam Vesty stepped up in 2022, Northampton have claimed victory in the domestic league and advanced far in the European competition – beaten by their Gallic opponents in last season’s final and ousted by Dublin-based club in a last-four clash earlier.

They sit atop the league standings after multiple successes and a single stalemate and travel to Ashton Gate on Saturday as the just one without a loss, seeking a initial success at their opponent's ground since 2021.

It would be expected to think Dowson, who played 262 elite matches for various teams altogether, had long intended to be a manager.

“When I played, I hadn't given it much thought,” he says. “However as you get older, you realise how much you enjoy the game, and what the everyday life looks like. I spent some time at Metro Bank doing a trial period. You do the commute a several occasions, and it was tough – you see what you do and don’t have.”

Talks with former mentors resulted in a job at Northampton. Move forward a decade and Dowson manages a squad progressively packed with internationals: Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles started for the Red Rose against the New Zealand two weeks ago.

Henry Pollock also had a significant influence from the replacements in the national team's perfect autumn while the number ten, eventually, will take over the fly-half role.

Is the rise of this outstanding generation because of the club's environment, or is it chance?

“This is a combination of the two,” comments Dowson. “I’d credit an ex-coach, who gave them opportunities, and we had challenging moments. But the experience they had as a group is certainly one of the causes they are so united and so skilled.”

Dowson also cites his predecessor, an earlier coach at Franklin’s Gardens, as a major influence. “It was my good fortune to be coached by highly engaging individuals,” he notes. “He had a major effect on my professional journey, my training methods, how I deal with individuals.”

Saints execute appealing football, which proved literally true in the instance of the French fly-half. The import was involved with the opposing team defeated in the continental tournament in April when the winger registered a three tries. The player liked what he saw sufficiently to buck the pattern of English talent joining Top 14 sides.

“An associate phoned me and remarked: ‘We've found a French 10 who’s in search of a club,’” Dowson says. “I replied: ‘We don’t have funds for a French fly-half. Thomas Ramos will have to wait.’

‘He’s looking for new challenges, for the possibility to challenge himself,’ my mate informed me. That caught my attention. We spoke to him and his communication was outstanding, he was well-spoken, he had a sense of humour.

“We inquired: ‘What do you want from this?’ He answered to be coached, to be pushed, to be in a new environment and away from the Top 14. I was like: ‘Join us, you’re a great person.’ And he turned out to be. We’re blessed to have him.”

Dowson states the 20-year-old Henry Pollock offers a particular enthusiasm. Does he know a player like him? “No,” Dowson answers. “Each person is original but Henry is unusual and remarkable in multiple respects. He’s fearless to be who he is.”

The player's sensational touchdown against the Irish side previously illustrated his freakish talent, but a few of his demonstrative during matches antics have resulted in accusations of arrogance.

“At times comes across as overconfident in his behavior, but he’s the opposite,” Dowson says. “And Henry’s not joking around the whole time. Game-wise he has input – he’s not a clown. I believe at times it’s shown that he’s merely a joker. But he’s clever and good fun within the team.”

Not many directors of rugby would admit to having a bromance with a head coach, but that is how Dowson characterizes his partnership with his co-coach.

“We both have an curiosity regarding diverse subjects,” he explains. “We run a book club. He aims to discover various elements, aims to learn each detail, desires to try different things, and I feel like I’m the alike.

“We talk about numerous things outside the sport: movies, books, concepts, culture. When we played the Parisian club in the past season, the landmark was being done up, so we had a brief exploration.”

One more date in Gall is looming: Northampton’s return with the Prem will be short-lived because the Champions Cup takes over shortly. Their next opponents, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, are up first on the coming weekend before the South African team visit the following weekend.

“I won't be arrogant sufficiently to {