Saints Q&A: Phil Dowson discusses player availability, the trip to Glasgow and much more

Here is our question and answer session that took place at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on Tuesday afternoon, three days before Saints' final pre-season match, against Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday night.

Q: So, Dows, how much are you looking forward to this week's trip to Scotland?

A: "We're looking forward to getting away and spending some time together again as a group, like we did in Hull (earlier in pre-season).

"Based on the finances, you've got to pick your battles and Hull is obviously the home of ‘Doctor’ Lee Radford (Saints’ defence coach) so that means we can do some things that are a bit special up there.

"We had a beautiful dinner at his (Radford's) restaurant - it was really nice. If anyone's going, it's called The Lodge and it's next to the golf course. We had a lovely meal and it was good to see his neck of the woods.

"Radders travels down here a lot, he travels here two, three times a week and it's not a small journey so to go back up to his neck of the woods and see what he was doing was excellent.

"Now we're looking forward to an away fixture against Glasgow and practicing how we navigate those games away from home.

"We're looking forward to getting some guys back playing who haven't had the opportunity in pre-season thus far."

Q: How is new scrum coach Jaco Pienaar settling in?

A: "He's been good.

"He's hugely experienced - he's been coaching in South Africa and Japan.

"He's very, very driven so he spends a lot of time researching how he can be a better coach in coaching environments.

"He's transitioned really well and I think the fact he doesn't have to speak Japanese is probably a positive.

"He's enjoyed getting stuck into Northampton life and hopefully over the next couple of months we'll see his impact from a scrummaging point of view.

"He's a very nice fella and he's got an instant rapport with the players so it's a positive start."

Q: How have the new signings settled in?

A: "One of the strong suits of this club is getting people integrated as quickly as possible, people who have travelled from all over the world who aren't necessarily from Northampton – although the mainstay of our squad is from the Academy.

"So to make them (the new signings) feel part of the club, to make them feel welcome, to make them feel at home to give them the best opportunity to perform is something I feel the club and playing group does very well.

"We've been enjoying getting to know the new fellas."

Q: How impressed have you been with the Academy players who have stepped up in recent months?

A: "The fact they've already spent three, four, five weeks training with us last season, they've been in the environment, they know what our DNA is, our game plan and they've integrated really well.

"Credit to Mark Hopley and his Academy staff because these guys are coming into the squad in great shape, ready to go and with a good attitude.

"Credit to the players as well because they've stepped up, challenged in training and pushed themselves."

Q: Your British & Irish Lions players returned to training on Monday - when can they play?

A: "They can't play until round three of the PREM (when Saints host Leicester Tigers on October 11).

"They have five weeks off, which is what they're in the middle of at the moment.

"This is the end of their first week and they'll be progressing slowly into playing games again."

Q: And when are the players who were on international duty with their countries available?

A: "They're not allowed to play next week (in the PREM Rugby Cup game at Saracens).

"They could play this week because it's a non-competitive fixture but they're not available to play in the PRC.

"So the first time, based on a welfare point of view, which I'm not entirely sure I agree with... the first time they get to play is in a full-blooded Premiership game."

Q: How are the likes of Fraser Dingwall and George Furbank, who picked up injuries towards the end of last season?

A: "They're coming back into it.

"The one thing you don't want to do in pre-season, the start of a very busy season, is rush guys back.

"They're being managed and they're coming through all those challenges, slowly getting back into full contact."

Q: How beneficial will it be for the likes of Dingwall, Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme to have had a rare summer without playing international rugby?

A: "Time will tell.

"Having a break from rugby is obviously very positive but everyone has that at different times with their five weeks off so someone like Ollie, having had a child last year, probably benefitted from spending a good chunk of time with his family."

Q: How much are you looking forward to this season?

A: "I'm looking forward to it.

"This is week 10 of pre-season, already two and a half months in and we're ready for games to come, to get into that review and preview process.

"We're ready to see ourselves under some pressure and to find out about ourselves."

Q: Now you've had time to reflect, what are your thoughts on last season and the improvements you can make?

A: "There's loads of things technically and tactically we thought we could do better.

"There's loads of things from an organisation point of view that myself and the management staff and the heads of department could do better.

"So there's loads of small lessons about everything we do day to day and how we perform.

"There are some great memories of games and some frustrating times as well so it was a very mixed season, very up and down, but most seasons are.

"Not every season you're going to finish with a big trophy to punctuate it.

"We've got some really happy memories that we enjoyed, but at the same time I was fundamentally frustrated at the end."

Q: Finally, how good is it to see the investment in your former club Newcastle, to add to the strength of the league?

A: "It's a big statement that a company with Red Bull's pedigree has chosen to invest at this moment in time.

"The league is pushing on and going from strength to strength with regard to viewer numbers and crowd numbers so from that point of view it's very positive.

"We continue to try to make sure the sport is entertaining and that people want to come and watch it."