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Phil Dowson gives scrum coach appointment update

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Phil Dowson, the Northampton Saints director of rugby looks on in the warm up during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Northampton Saints and Harlequins at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on October 04, 2024 in Northampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Northampton boss Phil Dowson will decide on scrum coach Matt Ferguson’s replacement before the Premiership resumes in the third week in March.

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With James Craig set to lead the Premiership Cup side, Dowson will use the six-week-long break from league action to take a step back and focus on recruitment and forward planning for next season instead.

At the start of the year, it was announced that this season would be Ferguson’s seventh and last at Franklin’s Gardens as part of the men in Black, Green and Gold’s senior coaching team.

Dowson says they are in the process of sifting through the applications that have flooded in.

“One of my projects over this PRC (Premiership Rugby Cup block) is to get stuck into that.

“I think that’s a work in progress as we stand.”

Tarek Haffar, Northampton
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 24: Northampton Saints’ Tarek Haffar in action during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Harlequins and Northampton Saints at The Stoop on January 24, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Bob Bradford – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Ferguson has had a big impact since arriving at Saints in 2018, especially in developing the scrummaging of young props like Tarek Haffar, who had a superb game in last Friday’s defeat to Harlequins, which has left the reigning champions fighting an uphill battle to make the playoffs.

“Tariq is an incredible athlete, his power scores; his strength; his ability to run onto the ball – you saw that in spades.

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“He is a really, really good man, a really unique character within the group. He has steadily been developing away and now he has got a run of games and he looks like he is growing into it and is showing what he is capable of.

“I think his scrummaging is very good, Matt Ferguson has been developing that, but his differential is his ability to carry the ball and get through contact is a really good skill to have.”

As for Ferguson’s replacement, Dowson admits he has big boots to fill.

“We need to evolve and keep changing and having different messages and different delivery styles I think is important.

“Obviously, Ferg has had a huge impact at the club and that can’t be undermined. So, yeah, there are  big boots to fill, on and off the field in terms of what he does around the environment.”

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EllenMoody 3 hours ago
Great moments in Lions tour history – JPR’s drop goal and the All Blacks' brutal revenge

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JWH 4 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

83 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ 'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.' 'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'
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