Dowson can't wait to see Saints' summer signings in action against Bedford

The black, green and gold will host Bedford Blues at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens (kick-off 2pm), and five fresh faces will be in the starting 15.

James Ramm, Ethan Waller, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Angus Scott-Young and Sam Graham will all be in from the off.

There are three more summer recruits on the bench, with Robbie Smith, Alfie Petch and Callum Braley ready to make their bow.

And Dowson, who took over as director of rugby from Chris Boyd during the close-season, said: “Pre-season has been really good so far.

“Training at Northampton School for Boys has been a breath of fresh air as the facilities are brilliant, so the boys have enjoyed it.

“It’s been really interesting to get my feet under the desk properly as director of rugby, and all of our new signings to a man (and I include the Senior Academy signings too) have been outstanding in terms of their attitude and what they are producing on the pitch.

“The effort they all made in the Blakiston Challenge too was very impressive, so they’ve shown tons of character and immersed themselves in Northampton life.

“Getting those new players in a Saints shirt for the first time on Saturday will be very special.

“We know Bedford will be a handful; they’ve already had a pre-season game and put 60 points on Rotherham, and some of our players will be representing the Blues too – Ed Prowse, Jake Garside and Ethan Grayson – who will all want to make a statement ahead of the start of the season.

“It’s always really useful to get the first hit-out of the season.

"We’ve practiced really hard over the last month-and-a-half so I’m looking forward to seeing how much of our game we can get on the pitch under pressure.

"It will be a good marker of where we’re at.”