Promoted to club captain in 2007, Dowson bounced back from two long-term injuries to captain England Saxons to the 2007 Churchill Cup title.

Having come through the Falcons Academy system and represented England at Under-18s and 21s level as well as his exploits for the England Sevens team, Dowson was schooled at Sedbergh in Cumbria. He gained expertise from Falcons No.8s Pat Lam and Hugh Vyvyan before making the position his own in the 2004/5 season, when he was named joint vice captain along with Jamie Noon.

An athletic runner and a talented line out forward, Dowson has played many times for the England squad on the IRB Sevens circuit, including twice claiming victory in the Hong Kong Sevens. Phil’s mother was born in Hong Kong, and he had watched the Hong Kong Sevens from the stands as a child.

The 2004 Powergen Cup final saw arguably his finest moment in a Falcons shirt, as some fantastic fringe play led to him scoring the winning try in the dying stages against Sale Sharks.

That score saw him claim the try of the season award for 2003/4, and 12 months later he reclaimed the trophy after a length-of-the-field team try against Premiership champions London Wasps in the Falcons’ victory at Kingston Park

In 2005 his Premiership form earned him a place as a late replacement for England’s Churchill Cup tour to Canada, but having fared well on tour the next two seasons saw long-term injuries limit his involvement before a return to form in the 2007 Churchill Cup and his promotion to Falcons captain.

In 2008 he captained the Saxons to victory at Italy 'A', as well as starring in the win over Ireland 'A'.

School/university: Sedbergh School, University of Life

Nicknames: Dork, Dorkson, Dows

Favourite TV show: UFC, University Challenge, Last Man Standing, Dexter 2, Las Vegas

Favourite film: Man On Fire, Raging Bull, Aby Given Sunday, Happy Gilmore, Kingpin, Good Morning Vietnam, Apocalypto

Favourite music: Paul Simon, Kinks, Coldplay, Ice Cube, Moby, R Kelly, Jay Z, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Sting, Dire Straits, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles

Favourite book: AA Gill Is Away, Flashman, Moon Is A Balloon, John Le Carre – A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hiroshima Joe, Life Of Pi, The Road, Ian McEwan

Favourite food: Sunday roast, Chinese/Indian, Nipoti lasagne, any sandwiches

Most like to meet: AA Gill, God, The Hof, Chuck Norris, Mr T, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali, Jeremy Paxman, Gordon Ramsey, Natasha Bedingfield

Least like to meet: Anyone from Big Brother, Mal Cam

Best moment in rugby: Winning the Powergen Cup final, the Churchill Cup and the Hong Kong Sevens

Best moment outside of rugby: Buying my mum a house

Favourite place to visit: Bamburgh, Hong Kong, Cuba, London, Bali

I love: My dog, myself and sometimes the Mrs, but only if she has made me sandwiches!

I hate: Ungrateful drivers, caravans, reality TV, PDAs, People who don’t clean up their dog’s poo, smokers, my leaky ceiling, traffic jams, radio adverts, hanging up washing, shopping, noisy eaters in the cinema, people pushing in, queuing, candles, cushions, children on trains, trains being late, the tax man, parking fines