Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Alex’s time to shine as Saints No.9
ENGLAND hot-shot Alex Mitchell has been handed an important chance to turn Eddie Jones’s head when rugby restarts.
Mitchell, whose tag of ‘England scrum-half-in-waiting’ was underlined when he was called into the national squad for the Six Nations, will have a free run at the Northampton No.9 shirt after Montpellier dug in their heels over their signing of Saints star Cobus Reinach.
The French club are unwilling to let the Springbok stay on at Franklin’s Gardens through the summer, even though Montpellier’s season has been cancelled, so it will be over to Mitchell for the double-chasing Saints when the Premiership resumes.
“Cobus is one of the best scrumhalves around, so it’s been awesome for me to sit underneath him and learn from him each week,” said Mitchell.
“It’s a shame he’s leaving but it’s a great opportunity to really put my hand up now and see what I can do. I need to play some rugby and play well.
“It’s going to be weird with people leaving clubs mid-season, but, then again, it’s a weird time for everyone.”
A big finish to the domestic season for Mitchell would put pressure on Ben Youngs and Willi Heinz – both in their thirties now – who he shadowed in his apprentice role during the Six Nations.
“I was worried that I’d have to be cleaning boots and doing little jobs for everyone, but Eddie told me I was very much there as an equal,” he said.
“Training was quite high pressure, but that was to be expected. We’ve had a few Zoom calls since to keep our rugby brains going plus texts from Eddie to see how I’m getting on.”