'Connected' Saints will 'fly into' Euro final - Dowson

Phil Dowson (left) congratulates Henry Pollock following Northampton's semi-final win at Leinster

Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson believes his close-knit team will "fly into" the challenge of trying to become European champions for the first time in 25 years.

They take on Bordeaux in Saturday's Champions Cup final at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, 11 months on from beating Bath to win their first domestic title for a decade.

It's a game between two teams who like to play an expansive game, with Bordeaux's star-studded side currently second in France's Top 14.

"You look at the quality of their squad, (and) we're suffering with some long-term injuries. Just on those factors alone we're probably underdogs - and with their league form compared to our league form, I think that makes us underdogs," Dowson told BBC Radio Northampton.

"But that's up to the bookies and the pundits, we focus on what we're in control of and that's our actions and that's what we're going to do."

Northampton's league form this season has been inconsistent, but they showed their character with a last-gasp 28-24 win over Saracens last weekend, although it came at a cost, with Curtis Langdon, James Ramm, Temo Mayanavanua and Alex Coles all picking up injuries.

They will be assessed before Dowson finalises his line-up, but with four British & Irish Lions - Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell and Henry Pollock - in their side and an all-for-one, one-for-all mentality, the director of rugby believe Saints still have some trump cards.

"Whatever the perceptions from outside are irrelevant, the perception from the inside is that we've got a really close group, a connected group, and we've got some very talented players in there," he said.

"We work at that with how we talk about each other and how we value each other's efforts and how we keep pushing to try and get better across the board, whether it's guys on loan at Bedford and Hinckley and Leicester Lions or guys playing in a semi-final or final in Europe.

"It's not an individual sport, it's a team sport and we need everybody, and that includes support staff and everybody on side."

Phil Dowson expects Matthieu Jalibert to be a big threat for Bordeaux

Bordeaux also have plenty of top quality players, with French internationals Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert directing operations at half-back and the flair and finishing power of Damien Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey out wide.

"They are really enjoyable to watch - Jalibert and Lucu are outrageously good in terms of seeing space, driving tempo," Dowson noted.

"Their wingers are lightning quick, I love the (number) eight [Australia international Pete Samu], he's a really good ball carrier, and the hooker [Maxime Lamothe] looks like he's a bit of a character, he's physical and in amongst it - across the board they've got high quality.

"That's what you expect to see from a French side sitting second in the table. They want to play fast, they want to look for space, they want to be brave and that makes for entertainment."

It was back in 2000 that Northampton beat Munster 9-8 at Twickenham to lift what was then called the Heineken Cup, but a similar scoreline this time appears unlikely given the attacking approach of both teams.

Their journey to the final this time has taken them as far as South Africa, during the group stage, and to Dublin for a tight semi-final against Leinster which they won 37-34, backed by support which Dowson described as "exceptional".

Asked whether they will win on Saturday, he replied: "I don't know. The whole point of sport and the reason we love it is because nobody knows what's going to happen.

"All I can tell you is we are going to go flying into it with loads of energy, loads of heart, we're going to work incredibly hard and when it goes well, we're going to celebrate and when it goes wrong, we're going to pick each other up.

"We're going to keep doing that for 80 minutes and then look up at the scoreboard and see where we're at."