He may be closing in on an historic appearance milestone but Cumbrian Phil Dowson is still only interested in winning.

The 35-year-old captained Worcester Warriors in September as he made his 250th Aviva Premiership appearance against Sale Sharks in a 34-34 draw.

That made the former England man the fourth member of one of the Premiership’s most exclusive clubs, as he reached a landmark only previously reached by Charlie Hodgson, George Chuter and Steve Borthwick.

Dowson, who started his rugby career at Wigton Rugby Club, now sits third in the list of most Premiership appearances of all time on 259, three behind Chuter and six adrift of fellow Cumbrian Borthwick.

While the Worcester man says it is "tremendous" to see his name up alongside some of the greats of English rugby, he adds: "But at the same time, it is not necessarily how often you play.

"This season, I would swap some of those appearances for a few wins."

The Cumbrian is alluding to what has been a very tricky season with Worcester, which sees them second-bottom in the table, ten points adrift of Sale Sharks one place above them and only a point ahead of basement-boys Bristol Rugby, ahead of today's match against second-placed Saracens.

Dowson was forthright in his response when asked what he had made of this season.

"It has been very difficult," he admits. "We have been disappointing most weeks.

"At home, we have been competitive but away from home we have been very poor. That is where we are struggling."

But he added: "There has been a lot of positives about the group of players we have got.

"There is a couple of things that have made this season difficult, which is not an excuse, but it doesn't help."

At 35, Dowson still thinks he could well have a few more seasons of rugby ahead of him.

He says: "I think, once you get to about my sort of age, you have to take it as it comes.

"But Donncha O'Callaghan [one of Dowson's team-mates at Worcester] is doing an unbelievable job at 37. I would like to think I have more seasons in me."

As for his plans for the future, the Cumbrian has ideas in mind for the day when he hangs up his boots - both on and off the pitch.

"I have a business up in Newcastle, which is called NTH Degree imaging," Dowson says.

"That is in the print industry, which is a bit random. I try to get involved in that and learn from the sales guy."

On a future within rugby, he adds: "I definitely want to stay involved.

"I have been involved since I was 12 years old. I am not entirely sure in what capacity and I'm passionate about my business."

This year's RBS 6 Nations began last weekend.

England edged past France to claim a 19-16 win and Scotland got the better of Ireland in the other game on Saturday, while Wales cruised past Italy with a 33-7 away victory last Sunday.

When asked his thoughts on this year's 6 Nations ahead of the opening matches, Dowson replied: "I think this season's is going to be one of the most exciting. All the sides have shown improvement.

"England have been unbelievable since Eddie Jones came in. But now, they become the big target.

"I think the Irish team are very good. The Scottish team are showing massive improvements, as well. I think it is going to be really exciting. I would always back England because I'm English."

But any man on the street could say they are backing England "because I'm English" - Dowson has a much stronger link to England's Rugby Union side than that.

He was capped seven times by his country after making his debut in 2012.

The Cumbrian even had the honour of captaining England, albeit that was in a non capped match against the Barbarians, which England went on to win.

On what players he thought might standout during the competition, he said: "Stuart Hogg is being talked about.

"I always enjoy watching George North play. It will be interesting to see Sam Warburton. And I always look out for Dylan Hartley, my old captain [at Northampton Saints]."

Reflecting on his own international career, Dowson says it is only now he can fully appreciate what he achieved.

"You keep in touch with the players you play with and against," he admits. "At the time, you don't focus on how good it is.

"Now, you can watch it on the telly and look back at what a great opportunity it was."

The 6 Nations is sure to capture the imagination of the viewing public, as many massive sporting events so often do.

And Dowson is keen to see young players pick up the sport on the back of this year's tournament.

"I think, after the 2015 World Cup in England, they wanted to improve the amount of players playing," Dowson adds.

"Not only to see England do well, but to see a game that is active and people can get excited about."

Dowson also went to Sedbergh School in Cumbria and has previously described the school's playing fields as "the best setting I have ever played in".

The Cumbrian was a key figure behind Northampton's Premiership and European Challenge Cup successes in the 2013/14 season, scoring a try in the 30-16 victory against Bath Rugby in the European Challenge Cup Final.

He had also featured during previous Heineken Cup and LV Cup-winning campaigns.

During the 2012 6 Nations campaign, Dowson played alongside Chris Ashton, Ben Youngs, Chris Robshaw and Dan Cole.