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Dowson hits out at rugby's 'dysfunctional schedule
The Guardian
|April 09, 2025
English club rugby is being undermined by a "dysfunctional" fixture schedule that is making it harder to compete with other top European sides, according to Northampton's director of rugby, Phil Dowson.
Saints are the only English team still involved in the Champions Cup this season, but Dowson believes Premiership sides are being handicapped by their own domestic calendar.
Northampton were crowned as Premiership champions last season and also made the Champions Cup semi-finals, but Dowson believes it will require a "monumental effort" for any Premiership club to challenge successfully on two fronts given the existing structure and salary cap.
"At the moment it's dysfunctional, it doesn't work," said Dowson, whose team are struggling to make this season's domestic playoffs despite possessing a number of first-choice England international players.
"The more you develop players the less you see of them. There is a worry about that.
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