Dowson hails 'immense' Radford as Saints coach gets Scotland gig
Phil Dowson hailed the 'immense' impact Lee Radford has had at Saints after it was announced that the defence coach will leave the club next summer.
Radford will join Scotland's coaching setup on a full-time basis at the end of the current campaign, and he will be seconded to Scottish Rugby for this season's international windows.
The 46-year-old will join Scotland for this year’s Quilter Nations Series in November and the 2026 Guinness Six Nations Championship from February to mid-March, during which time Saints will be competing in the PREM Rugby Cup competition.
Radford will then take on a permanent position within Gregor Townsend’s coaching set-up in the summer of 2026.
Since joining Saints in 2023, former rugby league player and coach Radford has played a crucial role in shaping the club's defensive capabilities, with Northampton winning the Gallagher PREM title in 2024 and reaching the final of the Investec Champions Cup in 2025.
And Dowson couldn't be more complimentary about the work Radford continues to do at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.
“Radders has been an integral part of our coaching team over the past two seasons, and his impact on how we defend and how we play the game, both from a technical and an emotional point of view, has been immense,” Dowson said.
“His contributions towards our Gallagher PREM title win in 2024, and our run to the Investec Champions Cup final in 2025, were huge – those achievements by the team speak volumes about his quality and influence on our group.
“The squad hold Lee in incredibly high esteem and have a lot of love for him as a character.
“That quality is now also being recognised at international level, and one thing we talk about all the time here at Saints is being a development club – we want to develop players, of course, but we want to develop coaches and our staff as well.
“Lee’s really looking forward to doing both roles in parallel and taking his expertise up to Scotland.
"I’m sure he’ll be a huge success up there with Gregor Townsend and his team.
“Importantly, Lee will remain with us for the majority of this season. His continued presence ensures stability and continuity for our PREM and European campaigns, and we are very confident that we have people within our system who are more than capable of stepping into those shoes when he is away with Scotland.”