Phil Dowson: Northampton Saints will 'keep pushing to be better'

Phil Dowson took over as director of rugby when Chris Boyd left Northampton in 2022

Northampton Saints will "keep pushing to be better" after making it three wins from three in the Investec Champions Cup, says boss Phil Dowson.

They ran in nine tries as they beat Bayonne 61-14, having led their French opponents 42-0 at the interval.

The Premiership leaders have now won eight games in a row - a run which began back on 24 November.

"Every week there's another challenge coming and we've got to make sure we're ready for it," said Dowson.

Munster away on Saturday is next on the agenda and the Irish team are in need of a victory as they are third in the group table, six points adrift of Saints and five behind second-placed Exeter.

"There's loads to play for. Munster is one of the best places to go and play and we talk about being challenged, that is something we're looking forward to," director of rugby Dowson told BBC Radio Northampton.

"It will be a really good check on our mind-set and where we want to be. We'll try and give ourselves every opportunity to win at Munster, which doesn't happen very often for opposing teams.

"The coaches are already all over it. We'll make sure we get the energy right for next week and work out what parts of our game are relevant for Munster."

Flanker Tom Pearson led the way with a hat-trick of tries and prop Alex Waller scored two as Northampton sealed a place in the knockout phase of the competition for the first time since 2020.

Saints trailed Exeter 26-0 in their previous game, in the Premiership, before recovering to win 42-36 and Dowson was delighted to see lessons learned from that sluggish start as they dominated Bayonne from the kick-off.

"I thought we started well, got on the front foot - and put our foot on the accelerator after that," he said.

"We looked after the ball, we went forward and nine and 10, Mitch and Fin [Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith] put us in the right areas of the field.

"We maybe didn't do that as much in the second half but I'm delighted how we put that together."