“We have to celebrate the journey,” said Dowson. “I spoke about 2011 and the disappointment of losing that final, but actually there was the enjoyment of the journey to get there.
“It’s something we have to take on the chin and learn from.
“We’ve got lots of very fond memories of getting to this point and in lots of parts of the game, we were very good, but we weren’t good enough.
Phil Dowson credits Bordeaux-Begles
“First of all, credit to Bordeaux – it was a fantastic performance and we saw their quality across the pitch so I hope they enjoy their celebrations,” Dowson added.
“Of course we can do better on lots of different areas and some things went against us, such as those early injuries.
“I’m immensely proud of the effort and there are a lot of disappointed players out there.”
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Saints backline injury crisis
Dowson, arguably, had every right to be frustrated after Saturday’s defeat, especially as the Northampton’s backline needed to be reshuffled early on, with James Ramm and George Furbank both being taken off with game ending injuries.
“Invariably you lose really good players [to injury] and it makes it tricky, but we trust the bench and we knew the bench could go 75 minutes or more,” he said.
“Clearly it had an impact, and you want your best players out there, but I’m also conscious that every director of rugby in the world would say his squad is never fully fit.
Looking for the positives
“It was disappointing, but those things happen and we have to move on.”
Dowson highlighted the positives of the occasion, citing Tom Litchfield as a major plus point for the club’s development system.
“That’s the joy of it, seeing their journey, it’s just a shame that hasn’t been punctuated with a big win this time,” he concluded.
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