'Time is of the essence' as Saints bid to pick up where they left off in Premiership

Those are the words of Phil Dowson as he this week took time to explain how he felt after the sensational 2023/24 campaign for Saints.

The director of rugby is now, of course, preparing for his team's title defence, which will begin against fellow Gallagher Premiership finalists Bath at The Rec on September 20.

And that fixture, which was announced on Tuesday, doesn't faze Dowson as his side look to pick up where they left off in the Premiership.

"They're all big games whether it's the first one or the 17th," the Saints boss said.

"We need to make sure we're doing the right things for us really and this pre-season feels really short compared to the endless pre-season we had last year with the World Cup. So time is of the essence and we've got a lot of work to do before that fixture list kicks off."

Dowson couldn't help be delighted with how Saints performed in what was his second season in charge of the club.

They topped the Premiership, went on to win it and also reached the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup, only narrowly losing to Leinster at a sold-out Croke Park.

"One of the things I felt most keenly was how connected we were as a group," Dowson said.

"The playing group became very tight, the coaching group was very tight and the staff were very tight, with all of those groups interacting.

"We were all on the same page, everyone bought in and you could probably see that in the way we all celebrated together."

Saints were able to come out on top in a number of close games, including the final as they edged past 14-man Bath thanks to a second-half score from Alex Mitchell.

Dowson said: "That comes from bitter experience, which I've spoken about before in terms of we've been in tight games before, under Boydy (Chris Boyd) and in my first season so those harsh lessons come to the fore when the game is in the balance.

"We were fortunate last year to have a lot of strength in depth so that the players coming onto the field would have an impact in the final throes of each game."

Saints lost several experienced stars this summer as Alex Waller retired and the likes of Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam headed to France.

But Dowson said: "There's always going to be churn and change.

"This is a different group, a different chapter.

"We had to make sure we closed that last chapter and we did that properly on the Sunday after the final with the bus tour etc.

"We've got to develop some of those people who are stepping up and one of the most exciting things about it is that in the forward pack we lost lots of guys who were starting for us but that opens the door of opportunity for others.

"What the club is built on is guys stepping up so we're excited about seeing how they do that and how they deal with it."