Dowson salutes Pollock's moment of magic but rues Saints' lack of flow at Sale

Pollock produced an incredible individual moment, flying through Sale before chipping ahead and scoring a sensational solo try, pulling Saints level at 17-17.

But Sale then racked up 10 points to move 27-17 ahead before Fraser Dingwall's fine finish with four minutes to go gave the black, green and gold some late hope.

The Sharks eventually shut the door inside their own half with the clock in the red as they celebrated a crucial bonus-point success on home soil, while Saints had to make do with two points from their travels.

And after the game, Dowson discussed Pollock's moment of magic as well as Saints' overall showing.

"It (the Pollock try) was just a touch of class," Dowson said.

"He has that ability to change the game and inspire the people around him.

"He can do things other people can't do.

"World class."

On the performance, Dowson, who saw his side lose 33-0 at home to Leicester Tigers last Friday, said: "It was much more like it with regard to effort and intent.

"There were a lot of errors in the second half that gave them opportunity and we're disappointed not to get a result because there were lots of elements of the game that were very good.

"It was what we were looking for: a response and a reaction.

"We had another week's training together and that had a big impact so we're delighted with the effort but we just haven't quite worked smart enough.

"We went down to 13 men (when Tom James and Tommy Freeman were sin-binned in the first half) and more or less survived, coming in and making it a score game, but we couldn't really get going in the second half, it was very stop-start. We kept letting the pressure off really.

"We couldn't get any flow.

"There's no lack of emotional engagement in what we're trying to do.

"It's a cracking group of lads, as I've said before, but we haven't played well enough consistently throughout the season."

Saints had to field Tom James as a makeshift fly-half, with Fin Smith rested and the likes of George Furbank, Rory Hutchinson, Charlie Savala and George Makepeace-Cubitt.

On James, Dowson said: "He was excellent, he's been excellent all week.

"He was game for the challenge and we tried to get lots of energy out of the fact that he's a big member of our squad, a very popular member of our squad and we tried to make this occasion very special for him.

"We couldn't quite do enough to make it truly special, but I thought he was excellent in how he performed."

Saints now face a huge Investec Champions Cup round of 16 clash with Clermont Auvergne at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens next Friday night.

"They're all massive games," Dowson said.

"This was a huge game as well.

"We've got to make sure we continue to work hard in training to give ourselves the opportunity to be better than we were tonight."