If Jim Mallinder’s selection provides a signpost for the priorities of his Premiership-chasing side then the presence of Phil Dowson as captain will ensure Quins still have to reach the final the hard way.
Dowson was part of Stuart Lancaster’s first selection against Scotland in 2012 but, while his involvement with England ended after seven caps later that year, he remains an important leader in the absence of the crocked Dylan Hartley at Northampton.
Tonight at Franklin’s Gardens offers him a particularly pertinent opportunity to remind Lancaster that his yeoman virtues would be useful in the squad to tour New Zealand in the summer when he takes on England captain Chris Robshaw.
“I’m very proud of being an England international. Obviously I would have loved to have won 50-odd caps but sometimes it doesn’t work out like that. You have to enjoy the opportunities which come your way and keep working for any more you can get,” said Dowson.
“There’s probably a 0.0001 per cent of me playing for England again but why not give it a crack?
“The best way of doing that is by playing exceptionally well for Northampton. Even then it is a massive long shot with the way the guys are playing at the moment for England and the stability of the team.
“If he calls me, he calls me but if he doesn’t I am really happy playing here for the Saints.”
The Amlin Challenge Cup is a consolation prize for both clubs after their failure to reach the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup but it is a prize nonetheless.
Winning the competition in 2011 was the launchpad for a Premiership triumph the following season for Harlequins. By contrast Northampton, for all their history, wealth and international count, have collected dust in their empty trophy cabinet since their 2010 LV=Cup win four years ago.
Their form for most of the campaign suggested the nearly men tag would be discarded this season but recent stutters have raised doubts again.
Article source: http://www.sportinglife.com/rugby-league/news/article/480/9279286/marshall-to-make-rl-return
Northampton"s Phil Dowson living in hope of second chance
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