Dowson salutes Saints' 'big boys' as they help to defeat the champions

Saints stood up to a physical Saracens side throughout, earning a 22-20 success which came despite the late threat of a fightback.

Dowson's men got to grips with the breakdown after some early issues and they also secured numerous penalties at scrum time.

And the Saints boss said: "It was so tight throughout and you could see with that score at the end with two minutes to go, everyone's right on the edge.

"We dealt with lots of things they threw at us. They came after us at the breakdown and we just about got over that in the second half. They came after us at the set piece - the scrum was a mess, the lineout we couldn't get a lot of ball in the first half - and in the second half we gradually worked into the game and built a lot more pressure.

"A lot of the game in the second half was played in the Sarries half and we managed to create some opportunities but also kicked penalties as well.

"You have to have an all-court game because on days like today, you rely on it.

"Matt Ferguson and the big boys up front have done an unbelievable job.

"They've done a brilliant job all season and it's great to see Alex Waller on his last outing here be so dominant."

Courtney Lawes was once again imperious for Saints in his last outing at the Gardens before his summer move to Brive.

And Dowson said: "He's a joke, isn't he?

"He's actually getting better, not many players go from second row to back row, it's normally the other way, he's evolving all the time with the way his game's growing.

"The confidence he gives people in the changing room, what a legend!

"I can't speak highly enough of Courtney."

The win against Saracens ended a run of four Premiership play-off semi-final defeats in a row for Saints.

And Dowson felt they also learned a lot from the recent Investec Champions Cup loss at Leinster.

"We've played in a semi-final earlier this season and we were a little bit frustrated because in the first 20 minutes against Leinster at Croke Park we didn't feel like we got our game on the pitch," Dowson said.

"We wanted to do that this time and it's obviously tough against a side like Sarries, who were closing us down at the breakdown, so we just wanted to express ourselves more.

"Maybe the attack didn't get what we normally get but against an unbelievable Saracens defence, that's going to happen in these sorts of games.

"We talked about not playing the occasion but playing the game and doing all the things that got us to this point."