Northampton Saints head coach Phil Dowson was full of praise for his players after they delivered a ruthless performance en route to a 66-5 thrashing of Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park on Friday.
Tom Collins and Alex Mitchell led the way with a brace of tries each, while Juarno Augustus, Paul Hill, Sam Graham, Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman and David Ribbans also crossed the whitewash as the visitors clinched an important bonus-point victory in the race for a Premiership play-off spot.
Praised “relentless” Saints
And Dowson couldn’t hide his delight after the match as he sang his team’s praises, calling them “relentless” in their triumph over the Falcons.
“I thought we were very clinical. Despite the pressure, we executed our game plan, which we haven’t been very good at away from home this season,” he said.
“I thought we were relentless. We talked about being resilient, and so when (Adam) Radwan scored, I thought there was no panic.
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“We showed good composure to get back into the game and take the sting out of them.”
It was a momentous occasion for right-wing Collins, who is leaving Northampton at the end of the season, as his second try was his 50th for the club in 145 appearances.
Dowson stressed his intention to support Collins and other players who are leaving the club in the coming weeks.
“I think, regardless of what happens, we’ll support them and make however long it is as enjoyable as possible and as successful as possible,” he said.
He also singled out Saints captain Lewis Ludlam for special praise.
“He’s been outstanding, and I think he’s been that with England, on and off the field,” said Dowson.
“He’s definitely been that in our environment. His leadership has come on leaps and bounds, he keeps improving and wants to get better.
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“He’s got a massive edge. I’ve not got enough good things to say about Lewis at the moment in terms of how he’s managing the group and dealing with things as we move forward.”
Newcastle’s interim head coach Mark Laycock admitted that Northampton were deserved winners and that his side were not clinical enough.
“(Saints) were the more physical side tonight, and that told, especially in the second half once we were down to 14 men,” he said.
Falcons’ basics not good enough
“I thought our basics in attack were not good enough either. We coughed up the ball a lot and it just gave them opportunities.
“When we look back at the first half, I think we’ve been in their 22 four times and they’ve been in our 22 four times, and the score was 28-5 at half-time, which I think tells the story of us not quite being clinical enough tonight.”