Dowson explains how Saints discovered Kundiona as boss praises prop
Phil Dowson says Cleopas Kundiona was a player who had been on Saints' radar a couple of years before the club managed to sign him.
And the director of rugby has been speaking about the development of the 27-year-old, who has gone from strength to strength since joining Saints from French second division side USON Nevers in the summer of 2025.
Kundiona started for the black, green and gold last Friday, delivering a hugely impressive showing at tighthead as Saints began the new Gallagher PREM season with a 59-26 success against Newcastle Red Bulls at DPD Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.
The Zimbabwe prop has been given a prominent role at the start of the new campaign, with England man Trevor Davison working his way back from a knee injury.
And Kundiona has certainly earned the Saints No.3 shirt, settling in quickly after making the move to England last year.
He made 17 appearances in his debut campaign, helping the black, green and gold to claim PREM title glory.
Dowson has this week been speaking to this publication about how Saints discovered Kundiona.
The Saints boss explained: "Eamonn Hyland, who used to work here and is now working at Leinster, did an incredible job with our recruitment around statistically looking at players. I can't quite understand how he looks at so many players so it was obviously sad for us to lose him to Leinster.
"He had flagged Cleo a long time ago playing in Pro D2 and we asked him to have an interview. We interviewed with him and he was happy to stay in Pro D2.
"Two years later, when he came out of contract we again came knocking and continued to monitor and watch his games.
"We've just been so impressed with so many elements of his game. He's a big, strong man and he's got some great set-piece potential. He enjoys scrummaging and he enjoys mauling.
"In terms of his movement, he made 19 tackles and 22 breakdowns last weekend so his ability to move, his game understanding, allied to his mindset around trying to get better and be a good team man has been exceptional.
"So, yeah, Eamonn Hyland takes all the credit for that."
Kundiona was speaking to this publication last week about how it has been moving from the French second division to England's top tier.
But despite the change in environments, he has managed to remain on an upward curve.
"We see players all the time who come through," Dowson said. "Playing in Pro D2 is different to the PREM, certainly in terms of the speed, so he's adjusted really well.
"He was unlucky last season with a couple of injuries, but I'm delighted he's now had a good, solid pre-season and he feels really confident to put his best foot forward."
Australian flanker Josh Kemeny has also been hugely impressed with what Kundiona has done at Saints so far.
Kemeny said: “It's crazy that he's already been here for a season and it feels like a similar journey to myself because it just goes really quickly.
"You get really welcomed into the squad very quickly and I think he's someone who has only improved, has only got on with the situation that's been and he's someone who I'm really confident in when I see him alongside me or I pack down behind him in a scrum.”