<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m delighted to have this opportunity at Saints,\u201d Henry said. \u201cThis is a prestigious club with an outstanding coaching group and an incredibly talented playing squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a role I\u2019ve been working towards over the last few seasons. I\u2019ve been fortunate to work closely alongside Radders [Lee Radford] and take on defensive responsibilities with Bedford as well, which has been invaluable experience. This is something I\u2019ve wanted to do for a long time, and I\u2019m excited to get started.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to be part of the coaching team at Saints. The group is full of talented coaches, but just as importantly they\u2019re great people to work with.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe challenge each other every day, constantly looking for ways to improve and make sure we stay at the top of our game, while maintaining an environment that is enjoyable and collaborative.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all work closely together and there is a real openness to sharing ideas and learning from one another. I\u2019ve worked particularly closely with Radders over the last three years, and that partnership has been hugely beneficial for both of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of that, the transition into this role feels very natural. I have a strong understanding of the defensive systems and principles that have served us well over the last few seasons, and I\u2019m looking forward to building on that foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dowson added:\u00a0\u201cSince joining the club, Jim has been exceptional. He played a huge role in helping Radders transition into rugby union and the two have worked incredibly closely over the last three seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a relationship that benefited both of them. Jim was able to support Lee\u2019s understanding of rugby union, while at the same time learning a huge amount from an exceptional coach who brought a different perspective and skillset to the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cJim has also done outstanding work with Bedford Blues. He has gone above and beyond there, building strong relationships with players and staff, while really cutting his teeth as a Defence Coach in his own right. Reaching the Champ final last season was a significant achievement and Jim played an important part in that success.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is an ambitious coach who is constantly looking to learn and develop. He spends a huge amount of time studying the game and engaging with other coaches from across the world, always searching for new ideas and ways to improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a really strong position with Jim stepping into this role. His work ethic is phenomenal, his understanding of our programme runs deep, and nobody watches more rugby than him \u2013 whether that\u2019s Saints, Bedford or our Academy players out on loan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to see how Jim takes our defence forward. Because he has worked so closely with Radders and the wider coaching group, he understands what has made us successful and is looking to build on those foundations rather than starting again from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published: 13 hours ago | 11 August 2026 06:30 EDT mens gallagher-premiership Phil Dowson, (C) the Northampton Saints…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":735030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-735029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/735030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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