Dowson calls for ‘more consistency’ despite Northampton win over Harlequins

Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson admitted he was “delighted” to see his side emerge victorious in a 1src-try Gallagher Premiership thriller against Harlequins but tempered it with a call for “more consistency” from his players.

Saints bounced back from a disappointing derby defeat against Leicester Tigers with an end-to-end 36-33 win at home to move up to fourth in the table, level on 21 points with third-place Quins.

It was the kind of performance Dowson was hoping to see in response and one which he knows he will need to see more often if Saints are to challenge for top honours this season.

“Delighted against a side that had a big point to prove, we knew what a talented group they are,” Dowson told TNT Sports. “We made it difficult for ourselves at times and clearly not happy conceding so many points but very happy with the attitude and the application of the players throughout.

“I think knowing that group of players and knowing the team as we do, we’ve got to get to a point where we don’t need to have a disappointing performance like we had up at Leicester last week in order to get that reaction.

“So that’s what we’re always pushing for us is clearly more consistency but it’s a tough league and we were tested again th