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investec-champions-cup
Northampton Director of Rugby Phil Dowson praised his young players for stepping up after his much-changed side beat Cardiff 28-12 in the Investec Champions Cup.
Dowson rested Henry Pollock, Tommy Freeman and Alex Coles and named Finn Smith on the bench for their European opener, with one eye on next Saturday’s East Midlands derby at Leicester.
Despite the changes, Northampton finally managed to record a first win for a Gallagher Prem team in the competition after seven failed attempts by their English counterparts.
Dowson said: “It’s always exciting to see people on the road – James Pater and Charlie Ulcoq playing their first European game is exciting and we’re trying to let them know how special it is.
“Everyone at this time of year wants to go deep in both tournaments, whether it’s the league or the cup or whatever, and we’re no different.
“We will have to trust the team, we will have to use the depth, we will have to give people opportunities and see how they react to the pressure.
“Overall I thought all those players that came in were excellent.
“I was thinking about our effort on the turnover and how we pulled back when we were chasing shots, all those things that are hard to measure that really speak to the effort and the emotional buy-in that the playing group has…”
Tries from Pater and Toby Thame put Northampton 14-0 up at half-time, but Harri Millard went over early in the second half to give Cardiff hope.
Mason Grady’s entry moved them within two points, but George Hendy’s crucial try settled the Saints, who wrapped up the win late on with Fraser Dingwall’s goal.
Cardiff manager Corniel van Zyl said: “It’s frustrating because as soon as we get a bit of momentum we lose it again and ultimately that’s how we have to learn as a team.
“We have to keep a few positives in a row and not go positive then negative, that was part of it.
“I thought the lads who came on made a really good impact on the game.
“Think of Manzy (Tom Manz) making his debut, Sion Davies made his debut when he came off the bench, although it was late.
“Steff Emanuel probably didn’t play that much and he had a great game and then full-back Toby (Faletau) made a huge difference, Semisi (Paea) made his first start for Cardiff.
“I think just looking at that, the changes we were forced to make next week (against the Sharks), we can be really proud of the boys and how they stepped up.”